Chill City was the closest Victorians could get to Bluesfest this year with most of the artists on the bill also playing the legendary event in Byron Bay. With only one stage, the organisers picked a lineup to entertain all ages which ranged from young children through to seniors, all seeming to be enjoying themselves. My wife and I arrived at 2:30 to catch the beginning of
Ben Kweller. His latest album
Changing Horses is a country album and sounded great live with his slide guitarist providing some authentic country fills. After opening with the an older track "Walk On Me", the upbeat set covered his whole catalogue swapping between guitar on piano with varying success after some technical issues with the mic. His smile showed it didn't dampen his spirits any, even hugging the roadie at the end of the set to show there was no hard feelings."On My Way", "Sawdust Man", "Falling" and "Sundress" were all crowd favourites and the set finished with the highlight "Penny on the Train Track".
The
Easy Star All Stars are a band who have re-recorded reggae versions of whole albums including
Radiohead's
OK Computer,
The Beatles'
Sgt Peppers and
Pink Floyd's
Dark Side of the Moon with excellent results. Opening with "Sgt Pepper" and "With a Little Help From My Friends" they played tracks from all 3 albums and got the crowd up and dancing, especially the children. The set finished with a fantastic version of
Radiohead's "Karma Police". Chill City was living up to it's name and whole families were able to enjoy themselves on their deck chairs or picnic rugs with a great soundtrack.
Paul Kelly was next on stage playing an hour long set of crowd pleasers. It is no mystery why he is one of Australia's most popular singer-songwriters and most of the crowd left their chairs and blankets to get a closer look. Back up singers Vika and Linda Bull were a great addition to the band on "Love Never Runs on Time" and "Deeper Water" with
Vika Bull providing the days highlight taking the lead on a chilling version of "Sweet Guy". Other classics included "Dumb Things", "Before Too Long", "To Her Door", "When I First Met Your Ma" and the newer track "God Told Me To" evoking many a sing-along amongst the diverse crowd. "How to Make Gravy" was also greeted with crowd delight and rounded out the best set I have seen
Paul Kelly play yet. Next up was
The Bamboos feat Betty Harris who are a great instrumental band and went down well with about half the crowd, others were just awaiting John Buter Trio's arrival to the stage.
At 8pm
John Butler Trio got on stage for a 2 hour set to please the old and the new fans. I fall in the former category and haven't listened to
JBT much of late but a few songs into the set was reminded why I loved them in the first place.
JBT sound best in a live capacity and their ability to win a crowd is as strong as ever. Over several lineup changes,
John Butler has always been an excellent live performer and songwriter and put on one hell of a show on this occasion. This was also the last time this trio would be playing together in Melbourne and
John Butler's only shows for 2009. Opening with "Company Sin" the hits were paraded out early with "Pick Apart", "Betterman" and "Used to Get High" warming the crowd up for the longer tracks that were played mid set. The epic instrumental track "Ocean" showcased Butler's excellent guitar playing skills and as the song built to a dramatic climax the crowd went wild. During "Good Excuse", drummer Michael Barker broke into the best drum solo I have ever seen which went for about 10 mins and made me wonder why
John Butler would let this genius leave his band. The set finished with an extended jam version of "Zebra" featuring some call and response from the crowd. For the encore, John Butler took the stage by himself with his acoustic guitar for the ode to his children "Peaches and Cream" which was favourite from
Sunrise Over Sea and only was only improved when the band joined him the second half of the song. The banjo was bought out for "Better Than" and the slide guitar was also featured earlier in the set on "Treat Yo Mama". That bought an end to a great day of music and rekindled my love for one of Australia's best musicians.
Chill City was the closest Victorians could get to Bluesfest this year with most of the artists on the bill also playing the legendary event in Byron Bay. With only one stage, the organisers picked a lineup to entertain all ages which ranged from young children through to seniors, all seeming to be enjoying themselves. My wife and I arrived at 2:30 to catch the beginning of Ben Kweller. His latest album Changing Horses is a country album and sounded great live with his slide guitarist providing some authentic country fills. After opening with the an older track "Walk On Me", the upbeat set covered his whole catalogue swapping between guitar on piano with varying success after some technical issues with the mic. His smile showed it didn't dampen his spirits any, even hugging the roadie at the end of the set to show there was no hard feelings."On My Way", "Sawdust Man", "Falling" and "Sundress" were all crowd favourites and the set finished with the highlight "Penny on the Train Track".
The Easy Star All Stars are a band who have re-recorded reggae versions of whole albums including Radiohead's OK Computer, The Beatles' Sgt Peppers and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with excellent results. Opening with "Sgt Pepper" and "With a Little Help From My Friends" they played tracks from all 3 albums and got the crowd up and dancing, especially the children. The set finished with a fantastic version of Radiohead's "Karma Police". Chill City was living up to it's name and whole families were able to enjoy themselves on their deck chairs or picnic rugs with a great soundtrack.
Paul Kelly was next on stage playing an hour long set of crowd pleasers. It is no mystery why he is one of Australia's most popular singer-songwriters and most of the crowd left their chairs and blankets to get a closer look. Back up singers Vika and Linda Bull were a great addition to the band on "Love Never Runs on Time" and "Deeper Water" with Vika Bull providing the days highlight taking the lead on a chilling version of "Sweet Guy". Other classics included "Dumb Things", "Before Too Long", "To Her Door", "When I First Met Your Ma" and the newer track "God Told Me To" evoking many a sing-along amongst the diverse crowd. "How to Make Gravy" was also greeted with crowd delight and rounded out the best set I have seen Paul Kelly play yet. Next up was The Bamboos feat Betty Harris who are a great instrumental band and went down well with about half the crowd, others were just awaiting John Buter Trio's arrival to the stage.
At 8pm John Butler Trio got on stage for a 2 hour set to please the old and the new fans. I fall in the former category and haven't listened to JBT much of late but a few songs into the set was reminded why I loved them in the first place. JBT sound best in a live capacity and their ability to win a crowd is as strong as ever. Over several lineup changes, John Butler has always been an excellent live performer and songwriter and put on one hell of a show on this occasion. This was also the last time this trio would be playing together in Melbourne and John Butler's only shows for 2009. Opening with "Company Sin" the hits were paraded out early with "Pick Apart", "Betterman" and "Used to Get High" warming the crowd up for the longer tracks that were played mid set. The epic instrumental track "Ocean" showcased Butler's excellent guitar playing skills and as the song built to a dramatic climax the crowd went wild. During "Good Excuse", drummer Michael Barker broke into the best drum solo I have ever seen which went for about 10 mins and made me wonder why John Butler would let this genius leave his band. The set finished with an extended jam version of "Zebra" featuring some call and response from the crowd. For the encore, John Butler took the stage by himself with his acoustic guitar for the ode to his children "Peaches and Cream" which was favourite from Sunrise Over Sea and only was only improved when the band joined him the second half of the song. The banjo was bought out for "Better Than" and the slide guitar was also featured earlier in the set on "Treat Yo Mama". That bought an end to a great day of music and rekindled my love for one of Australia's best musicians.
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