Not Enough Room To Swing A Cat
Tim Finn (w/ Leena and Andy Bull)
Athenaeum Theatre
November 7, 2009
When I read the information on my ticket to Tim Finn's show, I naturally assumed that where it read "Leena & Andy Bull", this meant that the opening act was some sort of brother and sister act. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was somewhat dismayed when the singular Leena walked onto the stage and introduced herself. Dang, one more act to politely sit through before the main attraction. As it turned out, the highlight of a really fun evening was actually the breadth and talent of these two very different, but extremely talented and affable performers. It's easy to forget that every person in the music industry has to start somewhere and probably has to endure some pretty awful 'support act' experiences. It makes me think back to (the never lost-for-words) Glenn Richards thanking punters for showing up early to see the bands opening for Augie March.
I had never heard of Leena before, let alone heard any of her music. Especially these days where people's concentration spans are miniscule anyway, it was really something to see her hold the whole theatre's attention while on stage by herself. Her demure, but never awkward, way is endearing, and she's been gifted with a beautiful, soulful voice, and the ability to write quite personal songs with no trace of self-consciousness. It's a shame that the sound was a bit out of whack for her set, with the keyboards drowning out her voice. Still, it certainly didn't detract from a set that left a very strong impression.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Andy Bull is the Rockwiz episode with Dan Kelly. His nominated topic for the Master Blaster round was "Men Who Sing High". This is exactly what Andy Bull is, but there's a whole lot more to him than that. He's hilarious, and certainly doesn't take himself too seriously. Like Leena, he endeared himself to the audience immediately, with his self-deprecating sense of humour, talking about going to a prestigious private school in Sydney (which in his words, "will alone make you guys hate me") and having to endure the attitudes of the pretty, popular girls from his school's 'sister school', before launching into a self-explanatory number called "Pretty Girls". While Leena's style is relatively straightforward guitar-piano-based pop music with sweet melodies and soaring vocals, Andy's is a more kitsch, almost novelty act, with hints of soul. As he wound up his set, he told us to remember three things about him: "One, I sing very high; two, I'm astonishingly good-looking; and three, I'm broke".
It's funny to think that Tim Finn is probably twice Leena and Andy's age, not to mention every one of his very able band members. Yet it's easy to forget this, with his good looks, charisma, energy and a voice that has held up pretty well over his approximately three decade career. Even though his current tour is supposed to be in support of his Anthology album, a greatest hits of sorts, the evening was a pretty relaxed affair. There was a regular trading of quips between Tim and former Split Enz member Eddie Rayner who helped out on keyboards, including trying to figure out the origins of the expression about being so cramped there isn't enough room to swing a cat. The chemistry between them even now, is still obvious, as well as the mutual admiration and respect. The one and only photo I managed to get (no thanks to the pubescent usher) was taken from the very first song of the night, "Six Months In A Leaky Boat", which started out with Tim singing alone, and the rest of the band joining in as it went on.
Like You Am I, it's often easy to forget how long the older of the Finn brethren has been around. The set was full of old stuff, new stuff, rarities and everything in between, even though Tim refused to honour one fan's enthusiastic requests for "Shark Attack". True to form, there was lots of banter between songs and plenty of reminiscing about Tim's years living in Melbourne, including the time a rabbi came to welcome him to his new place in Caulfield.
The highlight for me was "Chocolate Cake", which is such a novelty song, and so cheeky (with a kickarse video for which it won an ARIA), yet I'd never heard it live. Very appropriate given that it's really Tim's voice that carries this number. Many of the king-hitters were spent early on in the show, such as "Persuasion", "Weather With You" and "Dirty Creature". It was also surprising how the band somehow pulled off old tunes like "Fraction Too Much Friction", "Day By Day" and Split Enz's first single released in Australia, "Maybe Was", which all miraculously didn't sound dated.
There were some occasional hiccups, like forgetting words or missing cues, largely on Tim's part. I've always gotten a strong impression that unlike his kid brother, Tim is more understanding and forgiving of stuff-ups, whether they're his own or someone else's. As I said, it's hard to believe that Tim Finn has been around so long. Fortunately, it's also hard to believe that his current levels of enthusiasm and energy will ever wane either.
Athenaeum Theatre
November 7, 2009
When I read the information on my ticket to Tim Finn's show, I naturally assumed that where it read "Leena & Andy Bull", this meant that the opening act was some sort of brother and sister act. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was somewhat dismayed when the singular Leena walked onto the stage and introduced herself. Dang, one more act to politely sit through before the main attraction. As it turned out, the highlight of a really fun evening was actually the breadth and talent of these two very different, but extremely talented and affable performers. It's easy to forget that every person in the music industry has to start somewhere and probably has to endure some pretty awful 'support act' experiences. It makes me think back to (the never lost-for-words) Glenn Richards thanking punters for showing up early to see the bands opening for Augie March.
I had never heard of Leena before, let alone heard any of her music. Especially these days where people's concentration spans are miniscule anyway, it was really something to see her hold the whole theatre's attention while on stage by herself. Her demure, but never awkward, way is endearing, and she's been gifted with a beautiful, soulful voice, and the ability to write quite personal songs with no trace of self-consciousness. It's a shame that the sound was a bit out of whack for her set, with the keyboards drowning out her voice. Still, it certainly didn't detract from a set that left a very strong impression.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Andy Bull is the Rockwiz episode with Dan Kelly. His nominated topic for the Master Blaster round was "Men Who Sing High". This is exactly what Andy Bull is, but there's a whole lot more to him than that. He's hilarious, and certainly doesn't take himself too seriously. Like Leena, he endeared himself to the audience immediately, with his self-deprecating sense of humour, talking about going to a prestigious private school in Sydney (which in his words, "will alone make you guys hate me") and having to endure the attitudes of the pretty, popular girls from his school's 'sister school', before launching into a self-explanatory number called "Pretty Girls". While Leena's style is relatively straightforward guitar-piano-based pop music with sweet melodies and soaring vocals, Andy's is a more kitsch, almost novelty act, with hints of soul. As he wound up his set, he told us to remember three things about him: "One, I sing very high; two, I'm astonishingly good-looking; and three, I'm broke".
It's funny to think that Tim Finn is probably twice Leena and Andy's age, not to mention every one of his very able band members. Yet it's easy to forget this, with his good looks, charisma, energy and a voice that has held up pretty well over his approximately three decade career. Even though his current tour is supposed to be in support of his Anthology album, a greatest hits of sorts, the evening was a pretty relaxed affair. There was a regular trading of quips between Tim and former Split Enz member Eddie Rayner who helped out on keyboards, including trying to figure out the origins of the expression about being so cramped there isn't enough room to swing a cat. The chemistry between them even now, is still obvious, as well as the mutual admiration and respect. The one and only photo I managed to get (no thanks to the pubescent usher) was taken from the very first song of the night, "Six Months In A Leaky Boat", which started out with Tim singing alone, and the rest of the band joining in as it went on.
Like You Am I, it's often easy to forget how long the older of the Finn brethren has been around. The set was full of old stuff, new stuff, rarities and everything in between, even though Tim refused to honour one fan's enthusiastic requests for "Shark Attack". True to form, there was lots of banter between songs and plenty of reminiscing about Tim's years living in Melbourne, including the time a rabbi came to welcome him to his new place in Caulfield.
The highlight for me was "Chocolate Cake", which is such a novelty song, and so cheeky (with a kickarse video for which it won an ARIA), yet I'd never heard it live. Very appropriate given that it's really Tim's voice that carries this number. Many of the king-hitters were spent early on in the show, such as "Persuasion", "Weather With You" and "Dirty Creature". It was also surprising how the band somehow pulled off old tunes like "Fraction Too Much Friction", "Day By Day" and Split Enz's first single released in Australia, "Maybe Was", which all miraculously didn't sound dated.
There were some occasional hiccups, like forgetting words or missing cues, largely on Tim's part. I've always gotten a strong impression that unlike his kid brother, Tim is more understanding and forgiving of stuff-ups, whether they're his own or someone else's. As I said, it's hard to believe that Tim Finn has been around so long. Fortunately, it's also hard to believe that his current levels of enthusiasm and energy will ever wane either.
posted by yossarian | 1:15 PM
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