Tim Freedman & Alana Wilkinson, The Espy (The Esplanade Hotel), 30 October 2019

A letter to myself on a cassette, ‘cause I don’t blog anymore. 

It‘s been eleven years that I have lived out of Australia, that means eleven years since I have watched Tim perform live…..eleven long years of not hearing his dulcet tones, seeing his mannerisms and witnessing this enigmatic piano player hard at work performing to his audience.

Like any fond memory there was always going to be that lingering thought of, it’s been 11 years, will it still be as good and will the show deliver what I was hoping for?

I rolled into the Espy a tad bit earlier than I needed to be……I had forgotten that Australian gigs would always start later and most of the punters would roll in pretty close to show time. What this afforded me was the luxury of being able to catch the support act in full.

I took a seat, yes, I said seat….and starting to watch the support act Alana Wilkinson perform her set. Straight away I was captivated by her fun and energetic style. She endeared herself to the amassed crowd and had some awesome banter.

She is a vivacious fun-loving folk “ish” singer who has also not quite dispatched her inner punk persona. She was an awesome opening act that felt destined to be the main act at the Espy some day soon.

The crowd loved Alana and thoroughly enjoyed her set, as did I. I found myself immersed in the moment of my first show back on Australian soil and loving every moment. 

Her performance was super infectious and the crowd supported her accordingly.

Unfortunaly 45 minutes came and went and as the last song (GTFA) “Get the Fuck Away” was being sung by Alana and the amassed crowd I found myself longing for more and so happy to be home and in the Australian music scene once again. Thank you, Alana, you are a star, and my new favorite over sharer.

Now for the main event, Mr. Timothy Freedman.

Tim walked onto stage and took his seat at the piano……He opened with a couple of Charlies. They were as beautifully performed as they were 11 years ago, and it felt I was not going to be disappointed, Tim still has his sound, his performance style, his brilliant banter and his reverence whilst on stage. As I watched Tim, I found myself reminiscing of watching Don Walker, by no means are they the same type of performer but they are excellent pianist and Aussie icons to boot.

Whilst there where a few piano sound technical issues it didn’t bother me and what I did love was his reference to playing the bagpipes when he felt it was all going wrong.

His song about “Sancho” (the nickname for the Whitlam’s late manager) was beautiful, emotional and as Tim had predicted I (and the masses) wouldn’t understand all the terminology used, but I could understand the sentiment in which it was delivered. 

The night was a great wash of old standards (which I needed to hear) and new tracks. It felt like I was lucky to be there to experience it.  As we rounded out the evening with Pokies, Gogh (which post-election seemed to strike a chord with me), No aphrodisiac (amazing song), and Hamburgers, amongst others. I was in Aussie (90’s ish) music heaven.  

Tim Freedman had delivered, Alana Wilkinson had deliverd and The Esplanade Hotel had delivered. It was a great night to be home and thank you all, and here’s to many more nights like these!   

JV