You Am I, with a side of Strings: Aussie Pub Rock Goes Fine Dining
I've seen You Am I and Tim Rogers more times than I can
count over the last thirty years, from Tim solo to the full rock anthem,
drinking-too-much version. I've even met him a couple of times. So I thought I
knew what to expect. This was only my second visit to the Concert Hall. The
first was Beth Gibbons, an amazing show in its own right, and the venue
certainly helps that along.
The Strung Up Tour is built around the 30th anniversary of
Hourly, Daily, with the band joined by a string quartet. The arrangements had
been reimagined, as you'd expect, and everyone was seated, with polite applause
instead of flying pints. I'd bought tickets expecting a quartet show and a
night in my seat, but with five band members plus the quartet on stage, there
was enough going on to feel more rock and roll than I'd braced for. It's a long
way from the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, where I've seen Tim so many times.
Tim was clearly having a ball with the new additions. He
dubbed the quartet the "Electric Eel Orchestra", a little nod to ELO,
and played them up as party demons. You never quite know whether that's true or
just Tim playing it up, but I figure orchestral players on tour get pretty
loose and run amok, so I took it as read.
He was theatrical all night, which is Tim all over. He's
always been a raconteur and a rake. Fresh off a theatre run in rural Victoria,
he was in full thespian mode: flamboyant suit, bell-bottoms, and he came back
out for the encore dressed in a top hat. Mind you, bassist Andy Kent was
sporting a very lovely hat himself, which makes me wonder whether Tim needed
that top hat to rival him. At some point in the encore the quartet slid into
the Fawlty Towers theme, and Tim followed it with the Ministry of Silly Walks.
Clearly a Cleese fan.
There was plenty of banter and storytelling throughout the
night that I hadn't heard before, even after seeing Tim live so many times. The
best of it: a record company in America once asked him to write an Oasis song,
and his comeback was, "Yeah, but even if I did, you'd still have my
voice." Fair. It's distinctive and not always the most melodic, but if
you're a fan, you love it.
The music really was top shelf. It showed just how good the
original songs were that you could add four string players and mix up the
arrangements without losing what made them great in the first place. All the
original elements were still there, but the strings brought something new.
On guitar, Davey Lane was fantastic. Tim introduced him with
another theatrical flourish, and described him as a huge Jeff Lynne fan, tying
it neatly back to the earlier ELO jokes. Rusty Hopkinson was giving it
everything on drums, with his family flown over from Perth to watch him play
the Opera House. Andy Kent was very good on bass, and the keyboardist, whom I
wasn't familiar with (probably on me), did everything the arrangements needed.
As Jim and I descended the stairs out of the Opera House, we
turned to each other and questioned whether they'd played "Purple
Sneakers". On reflection, knowing this tour is really about Hourly, Daily,
it makes sense that they didn't. It may have been the first time I've ever seen
You Am I not play "Purple Sneakers".
It didn't change my life, but it didn't need to. It was
different from every other time I've seen them, in a great room, and with Tim
and Jim, it's always a good time.
JV
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