Melbourne fans were surprised with the announcement that he would be returning to our shores despite not having released a full album since 2013’s Dream River. Adding to the surprise, Callahan was to perform twice a night for three nights in the relatively intimate Howler bandroom, despite easily filling out recital centres on previous visits. Whether this was an artistic decision or an economic one is up for question, but it presented a rare chance for Australian fans to see Callahan in close quarters.
The night opened with comedian David Quirk, who seemed as surprised to be there as we were to see him. What seemed like a strange choice for an opening act turned out to be an inspired one. Callahan’s music walks a line between melancholy and irony, and a second singer/songwriter might have tilted the evening too heavily towards the former. While Quirk’s strange, self-referential comedy drew mixed reactions from the crowd, it complimented Callahan’s set nicely.
One might think that Bill Callahan’s stark folk/Americana stylings would struggle to fill a room, especially accompanied only by a single guitarist. Those fears dissipated as soon as he spoke his first words. There was something uncanny about seeing that inimitable baritone coming from a real person, and there was something truly hilarious about hearing him tell an anecdote about a disappointing bus tour of the Dandenongs.
Callahan said very little throughout the show but his voice and his plain-spoken lyrics made it feel like an hour-long conversation. He played a sort of greatest hits set, pulling on material from the past ten years of his career. Guitarist Matt Kinsey kept things from feeling too rote with his lively accompaniment, which went from crystalline melody lines, to effects-laden squalls recalling the noise-rock experiments of Callahan’s early work as Smog.
While opening tracks Jim Cain and Ride my Arrow made for a strong start, Callahan and Kinsey took a little while to lock in. Only after a meandering Carter Family cover and a missed chorus in America did the show really take flight. The stretch from Too Many Birds through to closing track Let Me See the Colts captured the gentle magic of the recordings while feeling loose and spontaneous. Crowd favourites like Riding for the Feeling and Too Many Birds were re-invented by Kinsey’s guitar work, which brought the wild naturalism of Callahan best work into the live setting. Callahan’s parting compliment – “You’ve been a perfect audience,” – was met with the awkward laughter of a stunned and very happy crowd.
Highlight: The passive aggressive look Bill gave to anyone who took a photo of him.
Lowlight: No encore.
Crowd Favourite: Too Many Birds.
