Giant Minties

As Glenn Richards rightly pointed out at last night’s second of two Christmas shows at the Prince of Wales, it’s been a particularly busy year for Augie March. And although his gratitude to all those that have followed the band for years, and even those who’ve “jumped on the wagon” more recently were sincere, you couldn’t help but get the feeling that the chip on Glenn’s shoulder was even bigger than the one that usually seems to hound him during live shows.

The band kicked off the main set with the gorgeous “Vernoona”, and much of the first half of the show was full of their louder and more raucous numbers, like “Just Passing Through” and “The Cold Acre”. Glenn’s apparent frustration with both the sound and lighting was palpable, and at one stage he even seemed to be telling off drummer, Dave Williams, between songs. To one punter’s request for a smile, Glenn pointedly replied that it was hard to crack a smile while playing at 100 miles an hour, and that he would aim to “smile through the entire next f***ing song.” This unease reached its height when the band decided to attempt “Song In The Key Of Chance”, which with its grinding and uneven beat always sounds as though it might be abandoned halfway through. Shaking his head, grimacing and turning his back to the crowd, I really thought Glenn would either walk off or stop playing. To their credit though, the fellas finished it off, with Glenn ruefully stating that he didn’t know why he wrote songs like that.

This negative flow was finally broken by the gentle “Sunstroke House” with Dave on ukelele (with a very rawk flourish to finish off!) and Kiernan on piano accordion. It was at about this time that a giant box was brought on stage, bulging full of brightly wrapped presents – the band’s Kris Kringle – which they graciously exchanged in front of the crowd during breaks between songs for the remainder of the evening. The coolest present was Dave’s set of two electronic drumsticks – somehow breaking out into a very 80s-synthesiser-sounding beat, given to him by Glenn, which he good-naturedly proceeded to drum along to. I’m not sure where I might find these things, but if anyone out there knows where to locate them, please let me know.

The highlight of the night was definitely “Bottle Baby”, being dedicated to Glenn’s parents. It’s always beautiful to hear this one live, but last night’s version, with Glenn’s cracking voice, was particularly anguished and heartfelt. The more light-hearted “Baron of Sentiment” and “Thin Captain Crackers” were a well-timed relief from all the introspection, as well as the sweet “Bolte and Dunstan Talk Youth”. “Brundisium”, which I’ve always thought is best heard live, was as soiled and seedy as ever.

The encore – which, as Glenn wryly put it, “You’ve forced us to play against our will,” saw the boys back in form and their frontman in an apparently better humour. The cover of an old Beach Boys(?) number, “Hold On Dear Brother” was a corker, with Alpha Male Dan Luscombe helping out on vocals and guitar. The unusual thing about this rendition was that the entire band took part in the singing, and although Glenn said it was pretty demanding, it really showed off the strength of his voice as he bellowed out the chorus with the other boys in the background. I have a strong feeling that if I heard the original recording, its power would be somewhat diluted after hearing such a booming version last night.

The compulsory “No Such Place”, as well as an epic “Drowning Dream” and “Hole in Your Roof” rounded out the encore, with “Train” fittingly ending a turbulent show. The good news is that a new album is supposed to be in the pipeline for next year, so here’s hoping the boys will have a chance to slow down a bit during the summer to recover from the whirlwind that 2006 has been.