If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, I love Avoca Beach Theatre. It’s such a charming venue committed to showcasing the country’s best artists. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also less than half an hour from my house. So even though I already had tickets for Richard Clapton on Friday night, when Jason Singh’s show was moved to the Saturday I held on to my tickets. I’m still young enough to back up, right? At least I am if they’re local!
I must admit, for a while there I wasn’t sure whether the gig would happen. There was that postponement, and I wondered whether slow ticket sales were to blame. When I checked in on the seating chart a couple of days before the gig, less than a third of the venue’s 280 seats sold. With torrential rains on the night, there were plenty of no-shows. However, rather than lacking in atmosphere, this was probably the most electric gig I’ve witnessed at the venue.
Support act Brett Wood got a warm reaction for his bluesy originals. He was good. Really good. The sort of good that’s worked with Tommy Emmanuel and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s drummer good. The sort of good that leaves me impressed by his guitar prowess, even though I’ve seen masters like Prince, Carlos Santana, Brian May, and Mr Emmanuel live. He knows how to play, but he’s also an exceptional songwriter. He’s got such a magnetic presence too. I found myself hanging on to his every word as he told stories about his career and songs. He’s the sort of guy who deserves to be at the front of the stage every night, so I was a little surprised to see him slotting into Jason Singh’s band when he finished his own set.
As I mentioned, this was an intimate gig even by Avoca Beach Theatre standards. But as Jason reminded us all, he didn’t care about the people who didn’t show up; he cared about the ones that did. Right attitude. Those that did show up were some of the most enthusiastic I’ve been amongst. They came from as far as Meeanjin/Brisbane and were up and dancing in the aisles from the first couple of songs. They knew every word of every song, not just the big Taxiride singles but the solo originals from Hummanequin. They even brought him cakes with his face on them to celebrate the 25th birthday of Imaginate!
As the show unfolded, I understood why they were so dedicated. I’d seen Jason play on board P&O’s 90s cruise in January and marvelled at his enthusiasm and energy, but the show reached another level here in Darkinjung Country/Avoca Beach. Here he was amongst people who celebrated the breadth of his artistry, not just those hits. The show celebrated his full discography, Taxiride music, original solo material, and the covers close to his heart that formed his Heaven’s Greatest Hits shows a couple of years ago. I can be a harsh critic when it comes to people covering Bowie, but his section featuring some of the Thin White Duke’s biggest hits was amazing.
While it seemed like most of the crowd would be happy for Jason to sing anything, I relished hearing big hits like “Get Set” and “Everywhere You Go.” Jason’s assembled a brilliant band who help him replicate the harmonies Taxiride were famous for. It’s a good thing too, given the bad blood between Jason and his former bandmates. He alluded to the drama a few times, clearly stung by the way things turned out. However, watching him sharing the stage with his new brothers, it seems he’s embracing this new chapter in his musical story.
This show was probably one of the loosest I’ve been to. I mentioned that when I saw Ian Moss recently it felt like that traditional divide between artist and audience vanished. This show took that up a notch, literally removing the divide as Jason jumped down from the stage to dance with his fans and share the microphone with them. On spying my phone on my lap, he told me he wouldn’t continue the show until I started following him on Instagram. Of course, I had to oblige. He encouraged us all to mimic his drummer’s hip-thrusting dance moves during “Roadhouse Blues”. It was a wild night, but fabulously fun. I must admit, like so many people I considered piking when the rain started pelting down. I even might have if we weren’t meeting friends for the gig. But I’m so glad I pushed through because I’m sure it’ll be one of my most memorable concerts this year.
Image source: own photos
