Once in a while a band sweeps across the globe and captures worldwide attention, as its followers quickly swell & grow. The Teskey Brothers, hailing from Melbourne, are currently one of those rare musical phenomena which are fast becoming one of the world’s hottest groups, with their wonderful blues/soul/rock sound of yesteryear. The band are consistant visitors to the US & UK with appearances on shows like The Jimmy Kimmel Show helping to gather them momentum and I can’t remember the last time I saw an eighteen-date Australian tour poster with the words “SOLD OUT” next to every show but the ‘The Run Home Slow Tour’ has done just that, including four nights at Melbourne’s Forum, three nights at The Triffid in Brisbane & two nights at The Gov in Adelaide, all at full capacity. Even the three WA shows were all sell-outs including The Astor Theatre, which saw 1150 audience members attend a Thursday night show. So, to get an opportunity to jump in the car for a three & a half hour road trip south to the magical town of Margaret River and see The Teskey Brothers in a more intimate setting was too good to be true.
The River is fast becoming one of those venues that is garnering a growing reputation for its live music as it begins to attract a host of names to the town and tickets for this evenings proceedings were the hottest tickets in town, as a buzz of excitement swept through the area (we even saw Josh Teskey cycle up the main High Street in the afternoon without a care in the world as he smiled broadly waving as he went).
The gig was set up outside in the half in/half out rear garden with the timber pergolas & covered area adorned with fairy lights to make this an even more special setting, as the building crowd were treated to the opening act of Harmony Byrne, who’s soulful & emotive set wowed the crowd. I can’t recall seeing an artist pour so much emotion into their music as Byrne did, as she teased and toyed with her band throughout the set to really warm the evening up nicely.
Having collected three ARIA awards early this week for the album ‘Run Home Slow’ with Best Group, Best Blues and Roots Album and Engineer of the Year (Sam Teskey), The Teskey Brothers strolled onto the tiny stage with the relaxed look of a group of surfers who had just come from the local beaches after a day on the waves, which they most probably did anyway. Brothers Josh & Sam Teskey looked relaxed as they kicked off the evening with the opening track from the new album ‘Let Me Let Your Down’ before revisiting a trio of tracks from their 2017 debut ‘Half Mile Harvest’ in the form of ‘Crying Shame’, ‘Say You’ll Do’ & ‘I Get Up’.
The simplicity of the sound of this band is what makes it a joy to see & hear, with their roots firmly set on that Otis Redding/Motown 50s & 60s sound and this is helped with a two-piece horn section comprising of Nathaniel Sametz (Trombone) & Charlie Woods (Trumpet), along with Olaf Scott (Hammond Organ) which really gave the band depth & versatility. Josh’s smoky tones & solid rhythm guitar work continued to lead the way as ‘Rain’, ‘San Francisco’, ‘Sunshine Baby’ & ‘So Caught Up’ from their latest offering had the capacity crowd, which included Margaret River local John Butler, whooping & hollering at every opportunity. Lead guitarist Sam tickled his fret board (the man has his guitar pedals taped to a piece of cardboard) as they continued on with ‘Honeymoon’ & ‘Paint My Heart’ before finishing the set with ‘Louisa’.
But the final night of the Australian leg of the tour hadn’t quite finished yet, as the band were loudly encouraged back for more… and more they gave, as Liam Gough (drums) & Brendon Love (bass) lead the band back to the small riser to begin the encore with the wonderful ‘Pain & Misery’ before the song of the night, the outstanding gospel/soul/blues inspired ‘Hold Me’, which saw Josh mesmerise the entire crowd, as Harmony Byrne & her band jumped back up on stage to assist with a five-minute a-cappella finish complete with hand clapping & finger clicking which left the crowd entranced, spellbound & full filled. If everyone had been seated then this most certainly would have been a standing ovation without a shadow of doubt.
With two more shows remaining, the band flying to New Zealand in the next few days & this tour will have done The Teskey Brothers no harm at all – I for one will most definitely be going to see them next time they are here. Yes, the sound is tried & tested but you can never have too much Motown and these are original songs that are well written & exceptionally performed. It’s wonderful to be able to hear this style of music live and being played by a band who clearly love what they are doing. The intimate setting certainly added to the whole experience and has most definitely elevated this to being one of my ‘Gigs of the Year’. Don’t miss The Teskey Brothers next time they are in town!
Set List:
Let Me Let You Down, Crying Shame, Say You’ll Do, I Get Up, Rain, San Francisco, Sunshine Baby, So Caught Up, Honeymoon, Paint My Heart, Louisa,
Encore:
Pain & Misery, Hold Me
