Supporting Steve Poltz on this night was Kate Walker. Steve and his friend Gregory Page (who shared a tour in ’09) discovered Kate on a tram, and she has been a part of their shows in Melbourne since.
Supporting Steve Poltz on this night was Kate Walker. Steve and his friend Gregory Page (who shared a tour in ’09) discovered Kate on a tram, and she has been a part of their shows in Melbourne since. She has a folksy feel to her voice, and accompanies her mostly original compositions with complementary guitar playing. While Kate’s musical style is a bit too country for me, her lyrics are amusing and find particular resonance with many of the punters, particularly the song called I Liked You Better Before You Found God. Kate encouraged us to write the most controversial song we could and put it on Youtube to see who could make it first onto the news. For a seemingly wholesome young woman, the gig had a surprisingly wicked undertone. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Steve Poltz has the capacity to produce a unique show each and every time he performs. He doesn’t have a set list, which allows the audience to influence the whole tone of the night, with Poltz playing some mellow numbers to begin and then took requests from his obviously loyal followers. Poltz gigs are becoming a reunion of sorts for me. His fan base is growing steadily here, but I recognised faces that I’d seen at previous shows, and it was good to see that a great number of his fans knew all the words to songs and were willing to get involved in the event. This made for an intimate encounter with the very talented singer/musician/songwriter.
Playing a four-string that he describes as having been "saved from the pound" (his guitar was deemed less than perfect by its maker and was due to be mulched), Steve regaled us with yet more wicked songs like Hand-Job On A Church Bus. Steve decided that Milan (who brings Poltz out here for most of his tours) was the one he’d prefer the hand-job from until he remembered Milan’s sisters. All hell broke loose when he rubbed nipples and butts with a fellow named Joel from the audience. Rather than being smutty, it was amusing and Joel was a good sport about the whole thing. Again Poltz made use of his iPod when he introduced comments by his father and when he showed how the voice on his electronic buddy refused to swear.
I’m pleased that Poltz has stayed with smaller venues because it allows him to interact with punters. He considers that his best shows are the ones where he can see all members of the audience and can use the vibe of the room to lead the gig. The show, of course, is always mainly about the music, and as usual Poltz made guitar playing and singing seem effortless, as all performers with talent can to do.
Poltz delivered nothing short of a fun night. If you’re up for a bit of naughty yet harmless entertainment, catch Poltz next time he’s in town, which should be soon as Melbourne is a bit of a favourite… but maybe he says that about all the towns.
For pictures from the night, please check our Snaps page.
BY SHARON BROOKES
