Review: Hamer Hall, Melbourne, Monday 19th October 2015
As a part of Melbourne Festival’s exciting and eclectic 2015 lineup, English folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling headlined the city’s famed Hamer Hall to a considerable crowd comprised of a broad spectrum of ages.
Perhaps to foster state pride, Castlemaine’s own Oliver Hugh Perry aka D.D Dumbo offered support and took to the stage promptly at 8pm. Initially beginning with just an electric guitar and a few effects pedals, his songs were surprisingly complex in structure. With Perry possessing a powerful, emotive voice and trying out some flute, trumpet and drums, there was definitely enough going on to keep the audience engaged with his unique brand of experimental, bluesy pop.
Despite Triple J favourite ‘Tropical Oceans’ getting a reasonable reaction from the audience, Perry cut a bit of a lonely figure on stage; hopefully in the near future his obvious talent allows him to find a band to flesh out his songs some more.
Coming on stage just after 9pm, Laura Marling started her set with the stunning suite of songs that begin her 2013 album Once I Was an Eagle: ‘Take the Night Off’, ‘I Was an Eagle’, ‘You Know’ and ‘Breath’. With Marling and her guitar backed only by bass and drum players, it was amazing how intricate and powerful these songs sounded live.
She followed this up with the title track from her most recent album Short Movie, along with ‘Master Hunter’. She delved further into her strong back catalogue for A Creature I Don’t Know’s ‘Night after Night’ and I Speak Because I Can’s ‘What He Wrote’, along with ‘Ghosts’ from her 2008 debut.
[include_post id=”441485″]Given that her set was peppered with examples of how much she’s developed as a songwriter since ‘Ghosts’, it felt unusual for her to play it – indeed, it was the least spirited rendition of the night, and the fact that she had to pause halfway through due to muddling up some words indicated that the song might not mean as much to her now as when she first wrote it.
Marling then followed this up with a beautiful version of Jackson C. Frank’s 1965 song ‘Blues Run the Game’, followed by her 2009 single ‘Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)’. She also added in a cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Do I Ever Cross Your Mind’, professing her love for the iconic American Country singer.
Short Movie got a little more attention in the form of ‘I Feel Your Love’, before the UK singer delved back for ‘Sophia’. With only a couple of songs left, Marling informed those in the venue that there would be no encore, as is standard practice for all her concerts. Preceded by a humorous explanation, she closed with ‘Rambling Man’ and the recent ‘How Can I’ before she discreetly walked off the stage.
The audience inevitably wanted more, but the finish seemed highly appropriate and in line with the night’s tone as a whole – supremely polished and sophisticated, yet wholly conversational, friendly and good-natured.
Marling is an artist who has managed to remain startlingly consistent whilst also regularly pushing her musical boundaries; her well-paced setlist truly showcased this, with there being an even spread across all five of her albums.
Hamer Hall too, was the perfect venue for her brand of modern and refined folk music, with the band sounding crystal clear. Given her frequent album releases and her obvious love of touring, it surely won’t be long until her sizeable legion of Australian fans sees her again.
