Kitty Daisy & Lewis captured by Carl Dziunka.
Perth, being the most isolated capital city tends to find itself playing host to a lot touring bands playing their final shows of any given tour; especially if they’re in the country for Splendour. This can generally lead to some pretty interesting shows, in some cases the bands are tired and ready to get off the road, in others they’re in full party mood – which inevitably leads to some loose and very fun and entertaining shows.
Wednesday night saw siblings Kitty Daisy and Lewis (and their parents) play the last show of their Australian tour to a sold out crowd at the Rosemount Hotel and as last shows go, it definitely erred towards the fun and entertaining kind with the band playing a largely energetic and upbeat set.
Opening up proceedings was local singer-songwriter Bex Chilcott better known as Ruby Boots; fresh from the release of her new record Solitude. Backed by Lee Jones on Electric Guitar and lap steel, Chilcott gave the audience a taste of the new album, as well as a completely new song. The highlight of the set for me was “Middle of Nowhere” a song written in deepest darkest Utah, and featured some sublime lap steel from Jones. For me, Ruby Boots’ set served as a reminder that one I need to buy the new album, and two just how much I enjoy watching her play, and how much I appreciate her songwriting.
Now it’s pretty safe to say that Kitty Daisy and Lewis manage garner a pretty eclectic audience that runs the full gamut of generations. Indeed on Wednesday, night baby boomers found themselves rubbing shoulders with some Gen X’ers and a few Gen Y folk too – such is the groups wide reaching appeal. Also I can’t say I’ve seen a band quite as well dressed as this group in quite sometime; from the vintage wool suit and skinny tie of Lewis to the contrasting (I want to say spandex) jumpsuits worn by Kitty and Daisy. It’s an interesting aesthetic but one that definitely works for them.
Just also can’t help but notice just how talented the three siblings are as well; all three of them moved freely between guitar, drums, keyboards and harmonica throughout the set; each getting the opportunity to deliver a handful of songs and chat to the audience. Of course it’s more than just a sibling affair, with dad Graeme Durham featuring on rhythm guitar and mum Ingrid Weiss on double bass – so it’s a real family affair.
On the whole new record The Third dominated the set list; with some of the highlights including “Baby Bye Bye” and “Developer’s Disease”, a song about the gentrification of Camden, that is equally resonant elsewhere in the world, Australia included. For me however, one of the real high points of the set was the addition of Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton into the mix for three or four songs, his sublime trumpet playing somehow managed to ramp up the energy levels even further; and had the whole crowd jostling.
On the whole, the sound quality was great, except on one occasion, where I found Kitty’s vocals on “Never Get Back” to be largely unintelligible. I’m not sure if it was that they were getting drowned out in the mix, or if it was just a case of being too close to the mic. Maybe it was just me though? everyone else applauded wildly all the same.
The evening came to a bit of a strange close, with security apparently telling the band, who seemed to be in full flow, that they needed to wrap things up earlier than planned. That didn’t seem to stop them coming back for an encore, which took them up to curfew anyway. But all in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening; with some virtuosic performances from three siblings from Camden Town.
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