Local label The Push and FReeZACentral’s launch of the double-CD compilation was just that – history. Three mentor musicians, three mentees, and a glimpse of what happens when professionals take protégés under their wings and nurture them into full-fledged singer/songwriters. The honesty, integrity, and earnestness that played out on that tiny stage was nothing short of breathtaking.
The mentees – Yokey, Siobhan, and John Lingard – each played a twenty-minute set, and with the exception of the occasional technical glitch, they shone with enthusiasm and high-spirited gusto.
Yokey’s lovely falsetto voice and shimmering guitar work positively soared. Siobhan held court with a soulfulness immersed in such a sense of longing it made the heart ache. Sounding a bit like a youthful Billy Corgan, John Lingard’s bluesy tunes were ably accompanied by a bloke playing a mandolin.
Then it was time for the mentors to play. You Am I’s Davey Lane displayed a winningly self-deprecating sense of humour, and was rather reminiscent of Bob Dylan at times.
The lovely Angie Hart and her ethereal, angelic voice practically filled the room. How nice it was, hearing some old Frente! favourites such as Labour of Love and a sing-along rendition of New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle.
And then Jen Cloher took the stage and seriously rocked the fuck out. Her voice was breathy and sensual – lending a world-weariness to her rocking-out songs about dreams gone sour, doomed love affairs, and rodeo groupies.
I’m telling you; it was an inspiring night of entertainment, and makes me grieve for the loss of FReeZACentral that much more. Support your arts, people!
LOVED: Watching the young mentees gain confidence in the space of their sets, and the pride evident on the faces of their mentors.
HATED: Those kids in the back of the house who persisted in talking over the music. How rude! Also: the jerks in government who pulled funding for FReeZACentral. Boo.
DRANK: Cider.
