Stan Ridgway is a man chock-full of an active sense of humour. This can be heard in his songwriting and in the skewed way he looks at the planet.
Seeing him on stage with his four-piece band, the music and the jabber coming from the singer is sometimes long-winded and laconic but always tainted with sarcasm, dryness and a bit of craziness. This is Ridgway just as you would imagine him to be.
As a matter of fact that is the only way most Australian fans of his music have remember the American musician His visits have been few and far between with most people knowing him from the song he did with Wall Of Voodoo back in the days of new wave, “Mexican Radio”. You know the one, where he sings about eating barbequed iguana?
Although the larger populous may not have been aware of this, Ridgway has continued to release records under his name and has embarked on other collaborations.
But as Ridgway put it, “World domination is not in my plans. I’m content to build my own little empire of the ants.”
The Basement had a reasonable but eager crowd on hand for the man of the hour and his band tonight. Swampy guitar and fiddly high strung harmonica was to be featured during “Mr. Trouble” and the Ridgway sound was on display pretty quickly. He advised the crowd early on that the gig would soon take off like a rocket. Although this never came to pass, the entertainment was of good value.
Ridgway played a large portion of his 2012 release Mr. Trouble through the evening. Hanging around the fronman’s neck is a tag from the past entitled ‘new wave’. He is more of a singer/songwriter from the school of folk with his lyrics portraying the dark landscapes of the world we all inhabit today. From the individual issues of “The Drowning Man” or the more political statements in “Afghan Forklift”, he takes you on a journey via intriguing lyricism.
Pietra Wexstun, Ridgway’s wife and musical collaborator, added keyboards and vocals, Rick King played guitar and bass and Bruce Zelesnik was excellent on percussion. The sound was a bit muddy at the commencement of the set but after Ridgway stated there had been rabbits in the monitors then all was understood
With a steady flow of martinis for the band, the songs like “Camouflage” (a big hit in Sweden we are told), “The Big Heat”, “Blind Eye”, and “Just Drive” were all given their due. “Across The Border”, a bossa-nova-styled tune, was the highlight of the evening with excellent guitar work and vocals from the singer.
His anecdotes from previous travels to Australia ensured that this was a performance, not simply a concert. The humour did save the evening from being a tad disengaging due to the similarity of his songs and some of the more pedestrian moments, such as his song “Lonely Town”.
Ridgway has not lost the timbre that has made his voice so distinctive throughout the years. That was obvious when he broke out the classic “Mexican Radio” and the boisterous “Peg And Pete”. The faithful fans were hanging on every word and basking once again in his presence.
The blend of spaghetti western influenced rock and roll and country was put to good use though out the evening. His cover of Johnny Cashs’s “Ring Of Fire” showed him in top form and the homage to Ennio Morricone was excellent entertainment.
Ridgway and his band may or may not pass this way again. And although his recorded output may be more intriguing and easier to bite into, this was a chance to see a songwriter entertain.
