Wedged between the unsavoury laneways of St Kilda, the National Theatre is a seriously intimidating beast. Dangling from her meticulously-crafted ceiling are chandeliers which linger over the 700-odd seats below (each of which make sitting down about as comfortable as a colonoscopy). The stage is wide and has its roots grounded in thespian performance. Most musicians would wilt under her presence. Thankfully, of course, Dan Sultan and Alexander Gow are far superior to your average fingerpicker.
An audience made up of young and old welcomes two ofAustralia’s finest songsmiths onto the stage. Being only the second performance of their tour, there are clear signs of nerves (cue unnecessary fumbling of tuning keys). These quickly evaporate after an astonishing opening rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’ followed by a cover of ‘Great Southern Land’. Satisfied that the crowd is adequately warmed-up, Sultan heads backstage to allow Gow to croon on his lonesome.
As a performer, Gow treads playfully on self-deprecation. His rapport with the audience is immediate and the back-stories to his songs – including a dream about mermaids in theYarraRiverand Satan living in St Kilda – are almost as entertaining as the tunes themselves. This doesn’t detract from his undoubted talent as a songwriter, however. Songs such as ‘On the Run’, ‘Stay Please Stay’ and new track ‘Lady Eucalyptus’ exemplify an artist in complete control of his craft.
After a brief intermission, Dan Sultan sits down and awaits a restless audience to find its place. Few would’ve predicted the benediction to follow. Armed with just a keyboard – and later, his revered white Stratocaster – he proceeds to lift the National Theatre off its foundations. Sultan was born to be in the spotlight. He soaks up its glow just as a snake soaks up the sun on the first day of Spring. Highlights are numerous; ‘Get Out While You Can’ and ‘Sorrowbound’ wash with approval over the packed amphitheatre. But it is his delivery of ‘Old Fitzroy’ that spins the night into an almost spiritual realm. For everyone in the audience, it was one of those ‘shit just got real’ moments.
Eventually both artists reconvene for the encore. The banter between them is as natural as two blokes sitting around a barbeque talking shop. There is a chemistry that begs for their collective talents to be mixed for an entire album. A few crowd-pleasing covers later – including Tom Petty’s ‘Won’t Back Down’ – and the show concludes with a rapturous audience voicing their praise.
Walking out of the National and back onto the rain-swept streets of St Kilda, one gets the feeling that somewhere out there Paul Kelly is tipping his hat in approval of Australia’s next harvest of singer-songwriters.
– Paul Bonadio
