Review: C.W. Stoneking And The Primitive Horn Section, Marlon Williams and the Yarra Benders
Taronga Zoo Twilight Series, 11 March 2016
The Taronga Zoo Twilight series selected two fairly local men and their band mates to close out the last Friday night of the season. Marlon Williams, the up and coming New Zealander in support of the Melbourne based C.W. Stoneking made for a night of roots, rock, jazz and bluegrass for the not so full grassy knoll that overlooks Sydney Harbour. The attendance made no difference to the enjoyment factor that was delivered throughout the night.
Marlon Williams has proven many times before that he can switch musical genres throughout a set. With that beautiful tenor voice, a relaxed and direct stage presence and a killer band, The Yarra Benders filling out the sound, he did not put one foot out of place in his short set.
Williams’s cover of ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ lit up the surroundings and the smiles of the audience as they sipped their wine and beers. From that moment on, the chattering died down and their attention was on the stage. Rock guitar overload, in a very good way, continued the evening as Dave Khan and he traded guitar solos on a lengthy jam. The jaunty angle of Williams baseball cap and the smiles of the two of them as they played some licks made them look like teenagers who had just discovered the magic of rock and roll.
With some bluegrass numbers and beautiful down home harmonies to close the set down, Williams had made some new fans and accomplished what he was there to do. His warm up exceeded the expectations of the gathering and he would have been called back for an encore if time had permitted. That is fairly rare for a support act anywhere in the world.
C.W. Stoneking has been entertaining audiences for well over a decade now. When King Hokum came out in 2005, it made a big splash around Australia. He recorded that release with his band the Primitive Horn Section, who he still tours and records with today. Joining the musical offering tonight on backing vocals were the dynamic and stunning Vika and Linda Bull who have sung with everyone from The Black Sorrows to Paul Kelly.
The Primitive Horn Orchestra were tight and blended boogie and jazz to the proceedings. As usual, Stoneking was adorned in white trousers and a white shirt and a cheeky grin that always made you think he was going to come out with a witty one liner. Of course he had many of them throughout the set, but really he let the music do most of the talking tonight.
From the back porch blues of ‘How Long’ and the Bull duo lending there handclaps to the boogie woogie of ‘Get On The Floor’ it did not take long for the roadway in front of the stage to become a juke joint dance floor. Stoneking originally only graced the stage with his Resonator guitar and a banjo in his early days, but with his 2014 release he started picking out some wild bits of music filled with electricity. The aforementioned ‘Get On The Floor’ and ‘We Gon’ Booglaoo’ had him visiting Louisiana with some Slim Harpo stylised hip shaking riffs.
The Bull sisters left the stage for a while so Stoneking and his band could get a bit more low key and visit some of those classics from his earlier records. Jungle Lullaby was dedicated to the regular inhabitants of Taronga Zoo and may have calmed them down after the more raucous numbers.
He proceeded to play a couple more and introduced one track as being from a new project he was working on. He said the project was “some songs by some of the best singers done with his crappy voice”. His delivery in that American drawl, which is part of his personae, just lends a bit of hokum to the entire proceedings, in a good way.
The barefoot Vika and Linda Bull came back out and truly shined on the swampy ‘Tomorrow Gon’ Be Too Late’. From there it was time to get people shaking with the soulful boogie of ‘Yield Not To Temptation’, a sensational cover of the old Bobby Bland song. The love light was turned on and the horn section let loose while the limbs of the crowd shook for the last time tonight.
CW Stoneking continues to evolve as a showman and a musician. His music may be rooted in old timey country blues and jazz, but his performance and style is just what this century needs. He leaves you wanting more and like any great artist, that is what it is all about.
