Review - David Beniuk +
Erika’s Jive + Steven Robinson + Us Not Them
@ The Hopetoun Hotel, Surry
Hills 5/2/98
Erika’s Jive set the mood for the night a little after
the scheduled starting time. Denise Thomas on acoustic guitar
& lead vox and Marianne Cornford on electric bass and backing vox have an
acoustic/folk pop thing going with great tunes and timely harmonies in much the
same way as Tiddas. The
outstanding songs from their 50 minute set included Right Thing By You, Sex and
Blood, Pretty Ned, the
dischordant Against The Wall and the
new one that is so new it has no name! Wollongong’s Erika’s Jive: a name to
watch if you’re in the mood for a friendly pub and a beer or two, or an outdoor
festival a-la Woodford. Keep an eye out for their debut mini-album as well: “Who’s Erika” on Studio Arts through
Erika’ Records.
This show was being run fairly smoothly, and
as such the time between Erika and the next band, Bathurst’s Us
Not Them, was minimal. Jason & Chloë Roweth followed the
acoustic suit but Chloë plays mandolin instead of bass and theirs is a slightly
rockier, slightly bluesy, slightly Aus Folk tinged outlook. More harmonies
could have assisted the lyrical presentation of the set but Chloë’s
strong Deb Conway-sounding
and wide-ranging vocals more than balanced this out. The stand-outs from this
set included their own Glory and This Town, and an instrumental medley of
Eden
McKenzie’s Pipe March and a
song by Artie McGlynn
whose title still escapes everyone! Check out their two totally-independant
recorded efforts: the debut “Whirling
Bizarre”, and the latest “Feet In The
Dirt ... Head In The Clouds”.
David (Wollongong-The-Dave) Beniuk surprised everyone
when he came on next. We were ked to believe this was his night by the way it
was written on the blackboard: but Chloë said Steven was next... But
the ex-Merry Widow carried the night further on in acoustic mode with
his Billy
Braggesque look and the sound that carries so well across from his
from his solo debut “Port”. Dave’s
was the standout set of the night, and the only real solo effort save for Steve
and Chloë’s
guest spots, with his song Advance
Australia Current Affair being the best from his 40-minute set. Northshore Girls, Blacktown Boys, Tied Me With String and Dying also stood out. The other feature
was the apparently traditional and very slick Dave/Steve changeover, where Steve
guest-trumpets on Dave’s closer and then Dave guest- guitars on Steve’s
openers.
Steven Robinson was not as ecclectic a
performer as I was expecting: the work on his 1994 debut CD “The Porter Street Tapes” is
unclassifiable in genre due to his talent in so many instruments and so wide an
influence. Tonight’s favoured instrument was the old nylon 6-string, and he was
more than ably assisted by Ed (who mastered “Porter Street”) Lee throughout. Steve’s
standouts include The Fridge from “Porter Street”, It’s All In The Timing and Too
Weird to Reason With from his new CD “Between
The Dog and Daylight”.
The winner here was definitely acoustic
music, and with all of these acts pushing a release or two, you’d be doing
yourself no harm in seeking them out «««