Sometimes it’s the smaller intimate gigs that are the more memorable. Brett Winterford’s show at Perth’s YaYas was one of those shows. Being a Thursday night, the audience was a lamentable one in terms of size. What would have been an already intimate show, became that much more intimate. There was none of the awkwardness that sometimes comes with a low turnout. Instead an attentive audience were treated to an evening of well-crafted, intelligent songs.
Jessica Morhall, opened proceedings with a stripped back piano driven set, playing mostly her own original songs; with two great covers slipped in along the way. The simple piano accompaniment really helped to highlight the quality of Morhall’s vocal, which at times had a beautiful soulful character. A fact highlighted well, in her abridged version the Curtis Mayfield classic, “People Get Ready”. Her own songwriting was of a high standard as well, so the news that she’s heading into the studio, was not unwelcome.
After a short break it was time for Sydney’s Brett Winterford to take to the stage. There’s nothing staggeringly novel about Winterford’s style or sound, but then there’s not much out there you can do with an acoustic guitar that hasn’t been done before. Instead it was a charismatic performance of real quality; a quality deserving of a far greater crowd.
The majority of set was made up of Winterford’s original songs, a number coming from the recently released Greenthumb EP that he was there to promote. In the intimate setting, and with the stripped back accompaniment, the lyricism was really given chance to shine. Of the two covers that were slipped into the set, the rendition of Wilco’s ‘Jesus, Etc.’ was the winner by the slightest of margins. Though I couldn’t help but be impressed by the honesty and intelligence of Winterford’s own work.
It’s a shame that an artist of Winterford’s calibre was unable to draw a larger crowd; and hopefully his next foray across to the West proves more fruitful. I for one will certainly be heading back for more.
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