Review by Ben Connolly
There are moments in almost every Jeff Lang gig which absolutely grab you in the guts. Often it’s while the “disturbed folk” progenitor is wrangling an impossible guitar lick to within an inch of its life; sometimes it’s when he’s fiercely locking into a groove with his long-term collaborator Danny McKenna and sailing on the precipice; others it’s when the starkly rich lyrics arrests you in your tracks.

That moment came later down the set than usual in the Thornbury Theatre leg of the national tour in support of Lang’s 15th studio album I Live In My Head A Lot These Days and it came via a swirling, dizzying mirrorball-enhanced sonic switch. With the lights dimmed for the late-set debut of unassuming album track Standing on The Shore, the master pulls a swift one, looping numerous haunting guitar squalls and sending them around the room via multiple small PA speakers set against the back walls.

It’s unclear where it’s being directed from – onstage through Lang’s mind-bending array of pedals, or by the sound engineer through the deck – but the effect takes place right in the listener’s frontal lobe. Embellished by wafting brush-work and a sombre sliding bass rumble, the poignant lyrics hang in the air and the salt air all but ruffles through the curtains at the back of the room. It’s startlingly simple and yet another genius feather in his already crowded cap and it mirrors the recording style of the latest album, in which Lang experiments with unique aural-spacial relationships.

Of course, it’s not the only highlight of the evening, with the journey to get to that point a tour de force for which Lang has become world famous. McKenna is complemented by percussionist Greg Sheehan, who comes into his own on the chugging 12,000 Miles, a song so dense and involving I’ve never seen it performed the same way twice. New bassist Tim Keegan fills out the quartet with a rigid and tight bottom end, exemplified in Pull Of The Drift and its chest-beating rolling bassline.

The stage is graced throughout the night by a revolved quartet of female backing singers, including Lang’s partner Alison Ferrier and sister Michelle among them, adding lilting harmonies to the almost flawless new tracks. The age-driven The City’s Not Your Hometown Anymore is a poignant love-letter to a memory, and showcases the bond between Lang and Ferrier, who also co-wrote the tune. New life is breathed into now-classics such as Running by The Rock and The Janitor, while new tracks Petra Goes To The Movies and the social-commentary of People Will Break Your Heart mark a new bench-mark in modern Australian blues. The gig rolls out with a mournful Waiting For The Headlights Through The Blinds which once again proves Lang’s well-earned role as the true benchmark of Australian blues.

Review by Ben Connolly

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