The Thing About Clare

As I was saying to Ms Gegenbaueren III, up until Saturday night’s show at The Corner, I fear I’d been missing Clare Bowditch’s point. It was probably the third or fourth time I’d seen her play, but it was easily the most affecting.

The evening kicked off with able support from Dane Tucquet, whose very physical style of singing demanded attention, in spite of his shy and unassuming manner. His simple way of standing behind the microphone and letting his unusual voice go off on a jaunt of its own was completely absorbing, reminding me a bit of Tom Waits (except Tucquet doesn’t look quite as dishevelled and nor does he look as though he’s just been ejected from a bar). He’s one of those people you can listen to and let his voice take you elsewhere for a little while.

In stark contrast to Tucquet’s thoughtful and sensitive balladry were the raucous and light-hearted Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males. The set was a mix of old and newer material, giving a hint of what will feature on their forthcoming album, with numbers such as the very catchy “Babysitters Of The World Unite” and “Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth”. Typical live staples included “Step Forward” (with a blood-curdling contribution from Dan Luscombe), the rowdy “Summer Wino” and the sweet, wholesome “Drunk On Election Night”. The boys’ suits were great too.

Fittingly, the only person who could rival the charm of Dane Tucquet and Dan Kelly et al., was Clare Bowditch. There were times during her set where it was so intimate that you’d think you were in a lounge room, at a ridiculously large extended family gathering. With her expressive voice, ability to tell a tale and down-to-earth nature, you can’t help but simultaneously admire and envy her. The band’s set featured material from their second LP, What Was Left. Funnily enough though, for a record that covers plenty of emotional ground, particularly grief and loss, the tunes are indeed thoughtful without becoming dour, overly downbeat or self-absorbed. The high points of the evening for me were the beautiful “The Thing About Grief”, the funk-influenced Stretch cover “That Thing You Did” (by the way, that title’s just a guess) and “I Thought You Were God”. The latter was described by Clare as a song for everyone, and I’ve no doubt that most people can relate to the youthful adulation she sings about. The eery, atmospheric “Starry Picking Night” made you forget about your sore feet and strained eyes, as did the quirky tale of romance at the Corona factory, “Lips Like Oranges” – all the more fun when the crowd was invited to sing along.

When Dan Kelly burst on to the scene a couple of years ago, we coined a term for him, based on his good-natured and humble manner (OK, OK, and his roguish good looks) – Lovely Dan. Similarly, Clare Bowditch is also just that, and has her feet firmly planted on the ground. Hence I guess you could say she’s lovely too.