I
own every album recorded by Nick Cave
and every album recorded by Leonard Cohen,
so I was very keen to see Nick and others perform in the unique Cohen tribute
show - Came So Far for Beauty. There were three performances of the show. Reviews
of the first show on the Friday night were provided in The
Age and the Sydney
Morning Herald. I was lucky to be able to see the final show on the Sunday
night. Seeing I made a list of all 34 songs played by a moveable feast of 14 different
vocalists, I thought I would indulge myself with my own review of the show.
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Given
the undoubtedly limited amount of time which the band and their continually changing
combination of singers would have had to rehearse for the project, the quality
of the performance was exceptionally high. The musical styles used in interpreting
so many different songs would have provided quite a challenge even for a permanent
band, let alone one pulled together just for these three performances. The acoustics
of the Sydney Opera House don't seem to be too kind to full-on rocking, which
may also have made life harder on stage. |
I
saw the third and final performance, and it's reasonable to assume this would
have been the tightest and most confident of the performances. Certainly, all
the performers looked very comfortable on stage, despite a number of different
singers reading some of the lyrics at various times. As the lyrics are such a
magical part of Cohen's work, it was an understandable, if slightly off-putting
safety net.
The
show kicked off with Nick Cave
taking the lead in front of a number of vocalists in a rocking rendition of There
is a War. The thinness of the drum sound in the early stages meant that it
probably didn't pound along in quite the manner intended, but it was a good enough
warm up. While the others departed, Nick stayed on stage for I'm
Your Man, moving around the stage, emphasising words by pointing to the audience
in the front rows in a manner very familiar to those who have seem him perform
live. | |
The
tag-team arrangement saw Nick disappear and Kate
& Anna McGarrigle and Linda
Thompson appear, combining some sweet folksy harmonies for Seems
so Long Ago, Nancy. Then Linda got the chance to display some of her special
vocal talents on a haunting version of The
Story of Isaac, and stayed on to back up our first glimpse of The
Handsome Family - a duo I had not heard of previously who have a gothic country
style. They performed one of the most contemporary selections of the night,
A Thousand Kisses Deep, from 2001's 10
New Songs album. The female half of the couple, Rennie Sparks, looks like
she would be even more suited to playing Morticia Addams than Anjelica
Huston. Her partner, Brett Sparks, instantly reminded me of John
Goodman in looks and voice, with a hint of the rich deepness of Johnny Cash
thrown in.
Next
up, we were introduced to Martha Wainwright-at
this stage of her career still better known as sister of Rufus and daughter of
Kate McGarrigle (although her new release has a very rude title and a nude photo,
which are the sorts of things that some people find memorable). She did an up-tempo
country music take on Tower
of Song, complete with a nasal twang reminiscent of Tammy
Wynette. Despite the variety of lead singers I've already mentioned, a consistent
presence in the background were Julie
Christensen and Perla
Batalla - two women with experience as backing singers on Leonard Cohen albums
and tours. As on Cohen's recordings, the significance of these women's contribution
shouldn't be underestimated, providing both a strong echo of Cohen's sound and
a solid foundation which gave all the other singers the freedom to try their styles
and interpretations.
Christensen
and Batalla stepped to the front of the stage for the next song along with a tall
man who shuffled onto stage in an awkwardly shy way. His long black hair obscured
some of his face. I looked through the program in the gloom trying to guess who
it might be - maybe Jarvis Cocker had grown his hair? Maybe I was wrong about
what Rufus Wainwright looked like? The song was The
Guests, with the female singers playing a part very similar to the original.
But the man doing the lead vocal produced a rendition which could only be described
as breath-taking. By the time the song was finished, the question "who is
that guy" had become much more pressing - it was on the lips of everyone
in the audience! It was truly a show-stealing performance by the unknown singer
- a rendition somewhat reminiscent in style to Jeff
Buckley's live version of Hallelujah from years ago, but with an angelic purity
that swooped and soared, both powerful and fragile, a voice of rare beauty that
left the hairs standing up on the back of your neck.
To
steal a quote from a review by The
Guardian when he performed at a show in London last year, "fluttering
between a keening falsetto and a lower register with all the richness of a mature
black female voice, it's one of those unique instruments that channel emotion
with such purity you can't quite believe you are in the same room." The applause
was undoubtedly the loudest of the night, driven by astonishment as well as appreciation.
Ten songs later when the intermission occurred, literally everybody I spoke with
or overheard was talking about his performance and seeking information about this
man, whose name turned out to be Antony.
The Sydney shows were his first appearance in this project, with him filling the
role played by Laurie Anderson in
the Brighton performances of the shows in 2004 and in Brooklyn
in 2003. I quite like some of Laurie Anderson's stuff, but I think Australia
got the better option.
Perhaps
because Antony would have been such a hard act to follow for any other singer,
the following song was an instrumental, Tacoma
Trailer, which winds up The Future album. A full family affair was next
with the McGarrigle sisters plus Rufus & Martha Wainwright doing Who
By Fire, then Rufus Wainwright
sat at the piano to do his version of Hallelujah,
as heard by millions on the soundtrack album for the movie Shrek.
Next came Beth
Orton giving her first performance of the evening with Stories
of the Street, which also included some haunting passages played on the musical
saw, an instrument that made a number of effective contributions throughout the
evening.
The
Handsome Family returned to do a country style version of Ballad
of the Absent Mare, which was similar in style to the original. Jarvis
Cocker, frontman for the defunct/dormant Pulp,
made his first appearance for the night, playing a support role with Martha and
Beth to Nick Cave, who gave a lot of extra menace to Diamonds
in the Mine. With the full band kicking in, it had a lot more punch than the
original. Another real highlight followed, with Julie
Christensen taking a front role for the first time to perform A
Singer Must Die. This was a good blend of irony and tragedy, played in a style
reminiscent of a Brecht-Weill
musical. Teddy
Thompson followed with a version of Tonight
Will Be Fine, played in a manner reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska
or The Rising albums.
Then
Jarvis Cocker came on to tell those in the crowd who were dying for a toilet break
or a drink that this was the last song before intermission, but to warn them that
it was 9 minutes long. He and Beth Orton teamed up for a good duet of Death
of a Ladies Man, the title track of the Cohen album produced by Phil Spector,
which Cohen has described as 'grotesque'.
However, despite some wildly inappropriate instrumentation, the album does contain
some fascinating lyrical excursions, such as this song.
Intermission
time and everyone went outside to find out about the guy who sang The Guests.
While Antony was
listed in the program, his photo looked absolutely nothing like him. However,
through a process of elimination coupled with wide questioning, his
identity was established.
The
second set started with the McGarrigles & Martha Wainwright doing You
Know Who I Am. Whilst her harmonies were spot on and she clearly has a great
vocal range, I must confess Martha's nasal twang was starting to grate on me a
bit, a feeling not softened by her solo role that followed on The
Traitor. However, with a show like this, no one held centre stage for long,
and the Handsome Family reappeared to perform Heart
With No Companion . If I remember correctly, this one included a banjo, just
to drive home the country vibe - a bit different, but it worked quite well. Beth
Orton returned next for Sisters
of Mercy , then Jarvis Cocker reappeared, hamming it up for I
Can't Forget , a song which contains a goodly amount of self-mockery even
in its natural state. Two different people commented to me that Cocker's stage
mannerisms were very reminiscent of former Go-Betweens
frontman Robert
Forster.
The
other 'backing singer', Perla Batalla, stepped
forward next to sing Bird
on the Wire. I feel a bit harsh in saying I didn't like this much, but while
she clearly has a magnificent voice and sang with real passion, it was almost
Celine Dion-like in style, with long drawn out notes at every opportunity.
Rufus
Wainwright reappeared to do a fairly straightforward version of Chelsea
Hotel, one of the few Cohen songs I don't like much - its indiscrete nature
sort of taints it for me. My mild disappointment faded quickly with the much anticipated
return of Antony, who made an accurate observation about how sexy young Rufus
is. It was impossible to top his earlier appearance, as he had lost the surprise
factor, but he came pretty close. If
It Be Your Will was the lucky recipient of his vocal caresses this time, in
a manner almost reminiscent of Nina
Simone, and once again embellished by Christensen & Batalla.
The
Handsome Family gave a mournful treatment to the wistful Famous
Blue Raincoat, followed by some more vocal beauty by Linda Thompson on Alexandra
Leaving. She was accompanied by son Teddy, who looked just like a teenage
son who had to do something in public with his mum - scruffy jeans, hands shoved
in his pockets, and looking down at the floor. This song is one which did not
feature Christensen & Batalla on backing vocals and which would have benefited
if it did. It is their voices which really give the song something special on
the original recording and it was a bit frustrating that they weren't part of
this performance.
They
reappeared for probably the best known Cohen song - Suzanne,
with Nick Cave leading the way and even singing some harmonies quite well (I don't
mean to sound like I was surprised, although I sort of was a bit).
Teddy
Thompson got to sing without his mum next and did a good rendition of the title
track from The Future.
As I'd spent the last couple of months pondering various political futures, the
lyric "get ready for the future, it is murder" had some special resonance
for me.
Rufus
then came back, noting how sexy young Teddy was and proceeded to "fag it
up" (to use his description) for a tango/caberet style version of Everybody
Knows, along with the rest of his family. It worked well. Rufus left the rest
of them to it with Winter
Lady, followed by another real highlight - Perla Batalla & Julie Christensen
together on Anthem.
A song about the hope that can be found in failure - maybe a bit of an antidote
to The Future - these two women performed on the original and gave it even more
of a - yes, anthemic quality.
This
was followed by an introduction of all the band members, including the guy on
the saw, which meant we were getting to the end. The trumpet player who was also
the musical director of the whole show had been bugging me a bit all night by
conducting the band in the background, frequently gesticulating to the drummer
on timing and volume. I must say that as a drummer, nothing would annoy me more
than some guy continually trying to control the tempo and timing, which should
be the drummers' job in my view. However that probably just means I'm a prima
donna, and given how well the band performed I can't really begrudge his efforts.
The
grand finale was another full-blown, Phil
Spector style, wall of sound rendition of another track from the Phil Spector
produced album. Don't
Go Home With Your Hard On featured everyone (including the show's producers)
on backing vocals, with lead vocals on the four verses passing between Rufus Wainwright,
Jervis Cocker, Nick Cave and Teddy Thompson. I'm sure it's not just my innate
Nick-bias, but his voice had far more power and strength (maybe it was just good
old fashioned VOLUME) than the other guys and it was a good windup to the evening
before they all did their thank yous and waved goodbye.
Standing
ovations and what passes for floor stomping in the Opera House followed, and Anna
McGarrigle, Perla Batalla & Julie Christensen obliged us all by reappearing
to perform Came So Far
for Beauty, which seemed very apt.
After
190 minutes on stage and 34 songs, closing out the night - and the whole tour
- came the third song for the evening from the 'grotesque' Phil Spector produced
album. Maybe Phil is finally forgiven? Again the stage was filled with the whole
cast and the band launched into Memories.
There was some great interplay between Jarvis Cocker and Beth Orton, who had lots
of fun reprising their interplay from earlier in the night, Jarvis rounding out
the first verse with the plaintive "won't you let me see your naked body",
Beth unequivocally answering in the negative in the next verse and Nick Cave,
always a good choice to sing about naked women, doing the last verse dueting with
Antony, who was rather drowned out in the melange. Lots of "woah, woah, woes"
emanated from the backing gang before they marched off stage left. For the rest
of us, there was no option but to shuffle outside, where the heart paused for
breath and the day returned too soon.
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The
show was sold out and seemed to have people of all ages and 'types'. I saw Tim
Freedman from The Whitlams
in amongst the masses, as was Lindy Morrison, the drumming heartbeat of the Go-Betweens
who is almost certainly the only person in the world who has survived the twin
tests of sharing a flat in London with Nick Cave and standing as a candidate
for the Australian Democrats - I'm not sure which would be scarier.
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The performance
was filmed, so maybe it will appear one day somewhere in some form and you can
decide for yourself whether any of my perceptions expressed here were right.
A full
song list follows for ease of reference and just to remove any doubt that this review
is far too long
First
set: 90 minutes
Backing
singers of Julie Christensen & Perla Batalla played a major role in many songs
1.
There is a War - Nick Cave on lead with Julie Christensen & Perla Batalla
plus others
2. I'm Your Man - Nick Cave
3. Seemed So Long Ago, Nancy - McGarrigles
and Linda Thompson
4. Story of Isaac - Linda Thompson
5. One Thousand Kisses
Deep - Handsome Family & Linda Thompson
6. Tower of Song - Martha Wainwright
7. The Guests - Antony
8. Tacoma Trailer - instrumental
9. Who By Fire
- the McGarrigles plus Rufus & Martha Wainwright
10. Hallelujah (as heard
on Shrek) - Rufus Wainwright on piano, plus Martha Wainwright, Rennie Sparks &
Antony
11. Stories of the Street - Beth Orton
12. Ballad of the Absent
Mare - Handsome Family
13. Diamonds in the Mine -Nick Cave with Beth Orton,
Jarvis Cocker and Martha Wainwright
14. A Singer Must Die - Julie Christensen
15. Tonight Will be Fine - Teddy Thompson
16. Death of a Ladies Man - Jarvis
Cocker & Beth Orton
intermission
2nd
set - 100 minutes
17.
You Know Who I Am - The McGarrigles & Martha Wainwright
18. The Traitor
- Martha Wainwright
19. Heart with No Companion - Handsome Family
20. Sisters
of Mercy - Beth Orton
21. I Can't Forget - Jarvis Cocker
22. Bird on the
Wire - Perla Batalla
23. Chelsea Hotel - Rufus Wainwright
24. If It be Your
Will - Antony with Julie Christensen & Perla Batalla
25. Famous Blue Raincoat
- Handsome Family
26. Alexandra Dreaming - Linda Thompson with Teddy
27.
Suzanne - Nick Cave and Julie Christensen & Perla Batalla
28. The Future
- Teddy Thompson
29. Everybody Knows - Rufus & Martha Wainwright &
the McGarrigles
30. Winter Lady - The McGarrigles & Martha Wainwright
31.
Anthem - Perla Batalla & Julie Christensen
32. Don't Go Home With Your
Hard On - everyone (including the producers), with lead vocals on the 4 verses
shared between Rufus Wainwright, Jervis Cocker, Nick Cave, Teddy Thompson
Encore
33.
I Came So Far for Beauty - Anna McGarrigle, Perla Batalla & Julie Christensen
34.
Memories- everyone, with a verse each to Jarvis Cocker, Beth Orton & Nick
Cave with Antony.