This Saturday has been massive – no, I’m not talking any hedonism. Still, I only manage to see the last half of Perth resident and frequent Brisbane guest Jeff Martin and his fearsome Armada. The show is in full swing and numerous exotic instruments such as the harp guitar, sarod, harmonium and theremin are tantalisingly perched onstage
(I only later find out he didn’t utilise the majority of them after all); alas, a lot of The Tea Party favourites – Grand Bazaar, Coming Home, Winter Solstice et al – have all been played in my shameful absence. But hell, a mere hour with JM is time better spent than the majority of modern festivals.
Tipping the hat to the late six-string pioneer, the guitar sheikh parades a rare 1971 Les Paul on Midsummer Day and duly makes its fretboard smoke with a scorching blues solo. Line In The Sand’s double-neck grandeur serves as another excursion to Valhalla, ex-End Of Fashion bassist Jay Cortez (who later contributes some tasty electric slide) proving to be a worthy John Paul Jones to Wayne Sheehy’s John Bonham. Black Snake’s Led Zep moan is sheer visceral delight, yet the best is saved for the last as the monumental Sister Awake subsequently morphs into Inertia Creeps and Love Will Tear Us Apart before re-establishing its muezzin fervour. Sweet is the sherbet in Allah’s gardens.
Photo kindly borrowed from Jeff’s Myspace Page
