When you consider the pedigree of their two previous bands (THE GOOD SONS and WEDDINGS, PARTIES, ANYTHING respectively), it's disappointing that there was such a paltry turn out at The Lobby tonight for MICHAEL WESTON KING and MICK THOMAS.
Not that such trifles worry these two road-hardened acoustic warriors who've suffered a gruelling trip down from Belfast during the day and are still up for punching holes in our emotional walls.
Birmingham-based MICHAEL WESTON KING'S up first. He's already left behind a recorded trail of rootsy gems in his wake (both with THE GOOD SONS and solo) and your reviewer is enthralled throughout his all-too-brief 40-minute set.
Admittedly, KING'S a positive boon for anyone with a serious TOWNES VAN ZANDT fixation (mea culpa!) and tonight two of his finest moments are the starkly beautiful "Lay Me Down" (a commentary on VAN ZANDT'S funeral in Corpus Christi) and the closing cover of the great man's "Lover's Lullaby", an overlooked gem from TOWNES' "No Deeper Blue" LP.
There are far more facets to this notable singer/songwriter, though. His songs are prefaced by wonderfully witty repartee - tonight's intros including tales of seedy hotels in Amsterdam, his hatred of PHIL COLLINS (amen to that) and homage to RODDY FRAME - and each resulting song seems to raise the ante: a cover of TIM HARDIN'S "Black Sheep Boy" bleeding into Michael's own "Tim Hardin '65", whilst - even devoid of Phil Abram's persuasive guitar work - "Shake This Town" is resigned and beautifully poised. KING'S experience-riven songs chronicle hard times for honest men and strike a resounding chord. Absolutely bloody magnificent.
Melbourne's MICK THOMAS presents an equally convincing agenda for being here tonight. A huge bear of a man, his gruff but likeable demeanour and sweat-stained work ethic can't disguise the fact he's lugging around a similar weighty bag of rough-hewn acoustic pleasures.
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With a small clique of travelling Aussie supporters to spur him on, MICK'S songs often draw on life and experiences from his past in Melbourne and things like the pithy but poignant "You Remind Me Of" and the closing "Talking Tiger" (about the circus coming to town and decamping in the parking lot of a humongous shopping mall) are equal parts humour and astute observation.
Meanwhile, your reviewer may not have recognised the tune by Melbourne natives OVERNIGHT JONES, but still enjoyed it immensely, whilst THOMAS' re-invention of CYNDI LAUPER'S "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" as "Bands Just Wanna Get Paid" and his hilarious tale of the young Irish lad working in a Melbourne theme pub (sorry, the title escapes me) are both wicked and extremely cool.
Although you reviewer can't deny it makes his blood boil that songwriters of the calibre of both MICK THOMAS and (especially) MICHAEL WESTON KING are still struggling to escape the confines of the cult circuit, nights like this are still incredibly life-affirming regardless of commercial considerations and demonstrate that our finest performers are still prepared to raise their game for the sake of the song in the 21st Century. Terrific!
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