In the ornate setting of the stunning Ormond Hall, fans gathered to get up close and personal with WA’s talented trio, Eskimo Joe.
Performing in Melbourne as a part of their six date Winter Warmers tour, the Fremantle locals delighted guests with a stripped back, acoustic show featuring songs from their 16-year career.
The trio emerged from behind lush velvet curtains into a haze of smoke, and proceeded to take the audience on a chronological journey of their musical history. Fittingly, they opened with the first song from their first album.
A powerful start dominated by heavy reverberating bass guitar, flashing red LEDs and bursts from the smoke machine, the veterans then moved into the acoustic show they had promised.
Re-working their back catalogue in classic style, the trio were at ease on stage and joyfully shared stories of their song writing adventures and the influences that have got them to where they are today.
Lead singer Kav Temperley is a natural raconteur; genuine, inclusive and down to earth. The stories behind how each song came to be gave new meaning to each track, and connected the audience with the three men on stage.
Joking about how their first EP could have been nominated for best comedy album, the band’s self deprecating nature is endearing and it’s clear they’ve moved on in leaps and bounds from their initial musical offering.
A few highlights from their first album Girl garners an enthusiastic response, but when Temperley announces “you will now be listening to songs from an album called A Song Is A City”, the real cheering begins.
After jokingly attempting to use a metronome to recreate the unmistakable ticking noise that is the backdrop to their 2004 single “From The Sea”, the band settle on the more reliable prerecorded sound effect. The song, performed with keys and two acoustic guitars, showcases Temperley’s distinctive, gritty vocals and the band’s brilliant harmonies.
Moving onto the title track from this second album, fans learn that “A Song Is A City” is about the band’s attempt to “try and break free from the record company they were signed to”. When they realised they couldn’t, they wrote this song, “mourning the shitheap they were in”.
Their drunken nights, random adventures and general Fremantle fun spawned “Life Is Better With You’. Assuring the crowd mid performance that they “didn’t completely rip off Neil Young with this song” they continue, the song’s dreamy chorus and harmonies emphasised by the acoustic setting.
The hit singles from Black Fingernails, Red Wine followed, along with their respective stories. “New York” was written after “completely fucking up a mega deal in the US”, and “Sarah” is performed at audience level, after Temperley jumps off the stage and wanders through the crowd with his microphone.
After familiarising himself with the audience, and one fan in particular, he returns to the stage for the album’s ARIA award winning title track.
After a short interval, the band return with their new single “Every Harmony”. The gentler and more melodic song showcases a new direction for the three musicians, driven by keys rather than their usual drums and guitars. The song will feature on their upcoming sixth album, funded thanks to a spectacularly successful Pozible campaign.
Jumping to 2009, it’s time for the Middle Eastern inspired Inshalla, the title track of which was written in Egypt when Temperley was trying to “get away from it all”.
In amongst the playful banter and the story telling, Temperley describes the moment he found out that fellow Perth boy, Heath Ledger, had died. Any murmur in the crowd came to an abrupt halt, as if they were hearing the news for the first time, and fans listened intently to the story behind “Foreign Land”.
Stripping the song back to its bare bones, Temperley performed sans band members, with only an acoustic guitar. Without the heaviness of the drums and electric guitar, as featured on the original recording, the song took on its own poignancy.
Treating fans to one more new track, “Got What You Need”, the band were happy to announce that their new album will be about “expressing happiness and having fun”.
Returning for an encore, the tongue in cheek banter continues, and the guys perform a medley of songs that all feature the same chord progressions.
Bowing to the crowd and showing genuine appreciation, it’s clear that these school mates have come a long way. If the new tracks are indicative of what is to come, then 2013 is set to get even bigger for this charming threesome.
