Kevin Devine - 29 Mar 2010 – East Brunswick Club (Melb)

First we had to endure a boring few hours in East Brunswick (where everything closes after 4pm, grr) then we couldn’t tear ourselves away from the pitiful support act (Black is the Colour) out of some sense of horrimusement. The lead singer slash guitarist actually introduced a song by saying it was “about AIDS and whatever”. He and the bassist looked like they were going to have a fight either on stage or immediately after the show, and they were both monumentally bitter about the fact they were a support band, constantly telling the audience gloomily that they knew we were only here to see Kevin Devine. These guys should have been thanking their lucky stars they’d managed to get a slot as a support band. It was possibly the dullest half hour I'd ever been subjected to, and Al and I only got through it by making up stories about how the band was going to break up backstage.

The room was really tiny, and it wasn't packed by the time Kevin made it on stage, but it was a warmly receptive crowd nevertheless. I am really glad that he played his own shows on this tour – it was great to see him in both settings, whether it be backed by a hard rocking band to emphasise the strength and power of his songs, or playing acoustically in small rooms where the skill of his songwriting and voice really shines. I hadn’t thought songs like Brother's Blood and Carnival – so rich in instrumentation, loud and powerful on record – could be just as good when only performed solo with just a guitar, but Kevin Devine played his voice like an instrument to give his performance greater depth and emotion. Acoustic nowadays seems to be a synonym for ‘soft and somnolent’ but in this case it was anything but – the rage and range he managed to convey with the naked voice was amazing; I get all verklempt when I think about it still.


Brother's Blood (acoustic)

The setlist was good, weaving between songs from latest album Brother’s Blood to older material and a nod to his influences with a Neutral Milk Hotel cover. Older songs saw adjustments, additional verses, like the extended Burning City Smoking. The undercurrent of political anger that drives so much of his work was more present in this solo show than the crowd-friendly support sets he’d played; that said there were still plenty of light moments during the gig, with joyful renditions of crowd favourites such as Just Stay and No Time Flat.


Kevin wandered through the crowd before the gig, calmly greeting fans who were brave enough to walk up and say hi, and he promised to stay around after the gig to talk to more people. Al, after saying very emphatically that she did not need to meet him, scored herself an impromptu chat when, at the very moment she reached the merch desk to buy her copy of Brother's Blood, Kevin came and swapped places with the merch guy! :D


Billion Bees
Brooklyn Boy
Just Stay
I Could Be with Anyone
Hand of God
Carnival
No Time Flat
Yr Husband
Burning City Smoking
Holland, 1945 (NMH cover)
(?)
Wolf’s Mouth
Another Bag of Bones
Brother’s Blood
Me and My Friends