It was as though static electricity had gone through the crowd as they waited for the doors to open at Milk Bar last night. Everyone talking excitedly about seeing Ash Grunwald play, wondering what songs he will perform, and reminiscing fondly of the last time they saw the Blues legend in person.
There was little room left as the audience poured through the doors for this sell out show, a testament to the much loved music of the Blues man himself. They were warmly greeted by Karen Page as support for Ash Grunwald, an incredible artist in her own right. Page brought her debut album to play for everyone, an album that has been 4-5 years in the wait that she was unable to tour at the time due to Covid. She started her set delighting the audience by playing the harmonica, guitar and singing.
She soon got the crowds attention, with her songs ranging from soft slow swing through to motivating, fast paced bops, the crowd cheered and clapped and sang along. She recounted playing at a bar with horse racing on the screen and 5 men with their backs to her, which inspired her song, ‘Bar Flies’. Page played the title track off her album, ‘Walk Away’, a song about letting go and not getting caught up in everything. It was like a warm hug from the stage to the crowd as she soared into ‘Take Me Down’, a deeper and darker track with soaring melody vocals and a trumpet that was absent, but replaced by the crowds eager bah dum dah dum dahs.
Page’s engaging interaction with the audience was energetic and relatable, telling anecdotes of how songs came to be, artists she has been influenced by and stories of her life, including her kelpie dingo cross dog. She reflected on how she came to meet Ash Grunwald, when she was in the studio telling her producer how it would be great to have a gravelly voice on one of her tracks. Her producer said ‘Í know a guy’ and a short while later, in walked Ash. Page described it as a dream come true to play with Ash and they wrote the song together in 45 minutes. This story saw the man himself walk onto the stage to sing the song they recorded together on that day back in Byron Bay, 5 years ago. This of course, was to everyone’s delight as they clapped and sang along, inhaling the magical moment of this incredible duo with every breath.
A short break and a raucous cheer brought Ash Grunwald back onstage to perform his set for the fans gathered at Milk Bar for his sell out show. The bluesy crooner took the crowd on a melodic multi-layered journey through the use of his loop pedals, stomp box, bass drum and collection of favourite guitars for the night. As Ash picked up pace strumming with a big wide smile never far from his face, the crowd too picked up their pace, clapping, knee slapping and cheering him on. He launched into his second song, a true story about seeing a shark while surfing with his mate. As they contemplated what to do, a pod of dolphins came by and guided them into shore, much to the laughter of the crowd as enigmatic Ash recounted how he was so happy that he promised to handfeed the dolphins tuna, glad to be alive. He continued his set, inviting a punter to film on stage for the ‘gram while playing some crazy bendy wah effects, his laughter and wide smile never leaving his face. Grunwald plays blues furiously, with the passion and fire of a thousand suns, serving up your favourite meal and the crowd ate up every bite.
There was an ‘aww’ moment as he played a song that he wrote for his kids about one day they will understand the reason behind him being away, and then he crooned into ‘Human’, pulling from a soulful place. Whoever said men can only do one thing at a time have never seen Ash Grunwald play. The man did not stop moving the entire time he was on stage. From stomp box to bass drum, pedal board, guitar strumming and singing. All while engaging enthusiastically with the audience who ate up every bite like a delicious multi-layered dip they just couldn’t get enough of.
The set continued from soulful to fast-faced, with Grunwald’s cover of ‘’Crazy’ bringing more crowd cheering, clapping and knee slapping. It didn’t stop there as he played a song from the Mojo album that he recorded with all of the Teskey Brothers. From playing with an entire band, Grunwald by himself somehow managed to pull off the sound of many with just a few instruments, a true testament to the blues legend as hes been described. He was one man, but he made it sound big. The crowd continued to be entranced by the slides and bends of his hypnotic riffs as he got Page back on stage to play ‘Ain’t No Sunshine (When You’re Gone)’. This became a freestyle rendition with the crowd dancing along.
He is insanely technically skilled and able to adapt to the crowds energy at the drop of a hat without missing a beat. Whether it was sped up or slowed down, the crowd did not want to let Grunwald go as the end of his set drew nearer. He kindly took requests from the audience, playing ‘Breakout’, ‘Mojo’, ‘Sail’ and ending on ‘Hot Mama Vibes’, and ‘Shake That Thing’ for some good old feet-stomping, honky-tonk blues from the god damn heart. When the crowd finally allowed him to step down from the stage and give his strumming fingers a rest, he stuck around to talk, sign, and take photos with anyone who wanted 5 minutes of his time. An absolute legend both on stage and off.
Ash Grunwald is an ocean, full of depth and dark waters, and when he plays, he draws from a place within him that can only be described as deeper than the Mariana Trench. It flows through him from the bottom of his soul and pours out through his fingertips as he strums his guitars and pours out of his mouth in melodic velvet gravel vocals. If his music could be food, it would be warm caramel on a cold day.
Thank you to Milk Bar, Ash Grunwald and to his management team. Photos by Hunter Brothers Media
Ash Grunwald continues to croon around Australia, playing until late April 2024. You can catch his other tour dates on his website: https://www.ashgrunwald.com/
