Lizottes, Lambton
Thursday October 3, 2013 :
After making his way around the nation yet again, Jack Carty is leaving his amiable name upon the musically satisfied lips of many. With The Predictable Crisis tour seeing Carty bring with him an assortment of heartwarming tunes, but also something a little different… as he infuses his earthy folk foundations with an experimental, more synthetic background.
Kicking off the night’s delectations was the auroral Fanny Lumsden + 1 Double Bass slappin’ Thrillseeker… whose rustic country upbringing is flawlessly graced with a mild folk sensibility; charming the audience with a carefree exuberance and exquisitely soaring vocal range, with ‘Firing Line’, ‘Hello Bright Eyes’ and ‘Sea Elephant School’ causing a widespread outbreak of toe-tapping underneath every table of the dining room.
Next to make his unique presence felt was Auckland born, Sydney-based Mali Mali (Ben Tolich) conjuring a somewhat bizarre sound that manages to be simplistic to the ear, yet intricate to the mind. With ‘Let Me Be On My Side’ and ‘Magnetic North’ combining somewhat outlandish beats with humble yet affective vocal, making for a unique live set.
Well within his element, a barefoot and buoyant Jack Carty stepped onto the stage; sporting the return of some masterfully crafted facial hair, plus the added benefit of a band… giving Carty’s normally gentle sound a dash of momentum. Opening with the bittersweet intricacies of ‘She Loves Me’ and ‘Travellin’ Shoes’, Carty instantly sent a dose of complacency into the crowd, highlighting his unhindered ability to truly make you feel every word that passes through his eloquent lips.
Launching into ‘What Does Your Heart Say’ those new found experimental textures arise within the sound. Followed by Carty classic, ‘She’s Got A Boyfriend’, it’s here I realise that Carty has somehow managed to excel himself from the last time I had the opportunity to see him play, his alluring vocal has further ripened to become more mesmeric than ever! With a flawless falsetto enough to make a nun shudder! Now, normally I would say that is simply due to welcomed return of his Josh Pyke-esque facial hair… but this time I think Carty has genuinely honed his existing talent to what can only be described as a prime. ’Okay, Goodbye’ bought with an unprecedented mouth-trumpet solo from Carty, plus the snapping of a string.
Now, what would an authentic live experience be without a good old fashioned snap of a string? Leaving Carty to borrow instrumentation from support act Fanny Lumsden, who graciously allowed Carty to place her tune into foreign tuning for the high energy ‘Reasons To Be Afraid’ causing quite the outbreak of boogie as punters leap out of their seat and began to shake what their Mama’s gave them across the dining-room/dance floor, before settling back down; allowing Carty to fondle with their senses just one last time with personal favourite ‘Point On A Map’ before decadently capping off the night with encore of ‘I Hope You’ll Come Around’… ensuring that Jack Carty’s evocative, honest approach to music is one to be wholeheartedly commended.
Reviewer: Chloe Webb
Photographer: Glen Pearson
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