Sydney’s newest venue is a small 40-capacity room in Marrickville, a short walk from the Factory Theatre on Enmore Road. It’s an intimate space which has already had artists like Lanie Lane grace its stage, and embraces you with free pizza on arrival. Brilliant! Tonight Lachy Doley took his turn to perform, performing tracks off his debut record alongside a few new ones.
The proprietor of the venue, Alison Avron, played support duties tonight playing songs like “Imaginary Boyfriend”, “Almost Love”, “Will You Be My Lover?” and “Big City Circus”. She performed these tracks on keys before welcoming Lachy and his band onto the stage to perform two tracks “All You” and “Happy Stories”, which she recorded with Lachy for her EP.
She’s a quirky performer whose songs about love and relationships are sometimes sweet, other times with a fair helping of humour. She reminded me of Kate Miller-Heidke in that respect, where she can take herself seriously if she needs to, and has the voice for it, but focuses on having fun on stage (and with her songwriting) above all else. An enjoyable performer, though still in her early days.
Accompanied by a drummer (Adam Church) and a bass guitarist, Lachy Doley casually hit the stage with his Hammond Keyboard, launching into “Miss You”, which was the first song he wrote for the new album. “Love Blinded Fool” followed closely behind, a brand new track, followed by another new one, which one might describe as ‘super bluesy’. He performed a track from his project The Hands, “Right Time”, featuring a pile of solos from all members of the band, and then came “Mother” – one of my favourites off Typically Individual Conforming Anti-Social.
“Not Mistaken”, a non traditional love song, was next, then “Fire To Set” and finally “Northern Light” – which opens the record – closing out the night. Put simply, Lachy is a brilliant musician. His ability to weave his lyrics through his diverse instrumentation is nothing short of impressive – both live and on record. But live, his music is taken up a notch, as he’s a brilliant performer, owning whichever stage he’s on. And given the bands he’s played with over the years – Jimmy Barnes, The Hands and Powderfinger to name a few – it’s certainly a stage he’s both comfortable and familiar with.
Typically Individual Conforming Anti-Social is in stores now and I highly recommend you pick yourself up a copy. And Sydneysiders – be sure to come and support this boutique venue. http://www.facebook.com/thenewsagencyenmore
