In the past couple of years, C.W. Stoneking has not been seen on the shores of his home country. As a matter of fact he announced from the stage of The Opera House that he had not performed live in over a year.
With a well packed theatre full of expectant fans, it was going to be captivating to see how Stoneking came across in such a theatrical space and whether his hokum blues are simply a one trick pony.
Dressed in white, hair slicked back, with the rest of the band in black, the chansan and his cohorts took the stage to a very receptive crowd. The dapper lead singer, on resonator and electric guitar was joined by a small horn section, a drummer, a bass player and some special guests. The band seemed ready for business from the start.
“I Heard The Marchin’ Of The Drum” had all three horns involved early on and the sound was full bodied and typical of his past gigs.
Throughout the evening he visited songs off King Hokum and his critically acclaimed Jungle Blues but that was not all that was on the menu. There were new players and new songs for this one-off Sydney performance.
Early in the night he pulled out a few songs that proved to be more upbeat than anything the audience had heard him perform in the past. For “Going To The Country”, the band increased in size by two members. Kitty and Daisy Durham, from Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, joined the outfit on stage adding background vocals. In addition to that Kitty Lewis grabbed her harmonica and quite aptly blew the crowd away with her solos. This was definitely a brand new avenue for him and his band to travel down.
There was a feast of excellent music served up tonight and the audience enjoyed every earful. The solos being played by all the band members were just so sweet and captivating. The band leader fiddling with his “fidgety electric contraption” (the guitar) as he called it; the Durham Sisters adding stellar backing vocals throughout and the weaving jazz and blues playing of the horns all battled for attention during each and every tune.
“Jungle Lullaby” was truly one of the highlights of the set with Stoneking alternating between talking vocals and sweet crooning. “She’s A Breadbaker”, from was risqué and humorous as per usual and well received.
The new songs “I Wanna Boogaloo” and “Jungle Swing” were both superb which bodes well for the upcoming record sometime in the not too distant future.
“I’m The Jungle Man”, another new number, may need a little more work before it is truly up to par with his other output. This moment was quite possibly the only dip in a show that was near perfection throughout.
The storytelling and wit he carries with him makes his concerts truly remarkable. The tale about wanting to buy pipe tobacco at Sol Levy’s in Sydney from the depressed dude in front of the wall of rotting mouths was hysterical.
Closing the night off with some audience vocal participation on Washboard Sam’s “Them Good Ol’ Cabbage Greens” and the Porky Pig farewell song left the Sydney crowd standing and hollering. This evening proved that Stoneking has not only continued to improve, but is evolving as a performer and a musician which is what you want from any artist.
