Five-piece Gomez has given Australia over 15 years of very special music and live concerts. The band has just commenced a hiatus that allows other members to release records and work on solo projects.
Ben Ottewell, the man with the stentorian vocals and deft hand at lead guitar work with that crew, has returned to The Basement two years since his last solo visit.
With a smaller crowd than Ottewell’s last standing room only venture to this venue, Matt Walker attempted to warm up the disinterested crowd.
An excellent guitarist and songwriter, Walker was joined by the splendid Shane Reilly on pedal steel guitar.
With an empty dance floor and music not made for dancing, the distance between punters and his music was a hard gap to close for Walker. He sounded excellent but the room was not very receptive.
Before the main act took to the stage the dance floor disappeared and tables were put in place for people to sit at the feet of the Gomez frontman. This was a tad confusing as Walker’s act was so laid back and not aligned with dancing at all. Ottewell is more of a swaying affair and dancing was not going to be on the cards either. Punters standing scrambled for the new tables and all was set for the main course.
Armed with two Gibson Acoustic guitars, Ottewell is a commanding presence while he performs. With a mixture of covers, new material and of course, Gomez songs, the set list had only a few variables from his last time on this stage.
His ability to take you away with an acoustic guitar, some reverb and a voice that requires little amplification is astounding.
Shapes And Shadows, the Englishman’s first solo effort, was featured throughout the set. The delicate title track to that album was wheeled out early on and the folk style and smooth singing had most of the crowd hushed except for a few warbling losers at the bar.
Ottewell made a comment early on about the side chatter, but all in all he did not appear phased by the background sound as his glorious playing overcame that annoyance.
Watching the singer reinvent the Gomez songbook in stripped back fashion is a delight for people familiar with the songs and totally engaging even in you are new to the music. He delivered songs not generally led by him vocally such as “Hamoa Beach” and “Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone”, extraordinarily well.
The growl and howl he emits from that throat is truly unique. Watching him groove on his guitars and transporting the audience to another galaxy, you can understand how he is the lead guitar player from one of the premier live bands on the planet today.
“All Brand New”, from his first solo record, was given an added twist tonight when Shane Reilly came out and added some glorious pedal steel layering to the beautiful folk song. The thought of Ottewell and Reilly, doing more work together seems like something that should be considered in the near future. It was one of the many highlights during the night.
The covers added to the set this time were the ever present Nick Drake Song “ Black Eyed Dog”, Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” and a rocking “Not Fade Away”. The Buddy Holly song ended the set proper with a roar of approval filling the room. After a short moment off stage Ottewell reappeared and prefaced the closing number with the introduction that this was a song about some Mexican woman.
“Tijuana Lady” is one of the most requested Gomez songs and the dreamy vocals take you away. Many in the crowd closed their eyes and let the music keep them warm just as the silky poncho does the lady in the song. Next time around Ottewell will have another collection of new songs under his belt, but this lady from south of the border will always remain.
