John Butler arrived in Canberra on Saturday night, to present his new Trio. Performing to a packed house, he again proved why he is a shining beacon for musicians all around the world.
As well as the main event, audiences were treated to the affable and care-free Brett Dennen. With a few shakes of his loosely connected hips, North-Californian Dennen quickly garnered the audience’s attention with quirky Acoustic/Pop tunes.
Performing tunes from his 2009 EP ‘Hope for the Hopeless’, his joy for the music shone through. It was a thoughtful and appropriate performance, and it was hard to believe that he was merely a ‘support act’.
After a short intermission, a bubbly John Butler ran onto the stage, raising the heart rates and the decibel levels in the room. After an all-to-rare acknowledgment to the traditional owners of the land, his trio launched into ‘Company Sin’.
The trio instantly found the groove, with new drummer Nicky Bomba, and bassist Byron Luiters (recently in Canberra with the Ray Mann Three) providing a rock-solid and energetic backdrop to the vocals and 12-string guitar of Butler.
As the set gathered pace, Butler entwined comical introductions with his messages for environmental protection. A highlight was his introduction to ‘Daniella’, which joined his story of how he came to marry his wife with the comical drumming of Nicky Bomba.
Songs such as ‘Used to Get High’, from his recent release ‘Grand National’, were performed with such infectious drive and groove, it felt like I had been lulled into a musical heaven.
Whilst his new band was simply extraordinary, the highlight of the whole performance was undoubtedly Butler’s hypnotic solo guitar piece – Ocean. Watching him become entranced by his own fingers, as he passionately and skilfully played, I felt truly blessed to be in the room. As soon as the song finished, the audience rose to their feat in applause, in sheer disbelief at his musicianship.
I could go on for hours about how incredible this gig was. But ultimately, all I can say is that I felt honoured to have been in the Canberra Theatre on the 9th January 2010, at the same time as the John Butler Trio.
