Review: Glenn Richards, Dan Luscombe, Mike Noga @ the Old Museum
I’m so incredibly sick of Saturday nights in “the Valley”. I’m not sure if it’s the onset of mid-to-late twenties kicking in, my ridiculous working life making me tired, or just the fact that I’m sick of seeing dirty bogans partnered with skanky late teens throwing themselves around the Brunswick St Mall in a grotesque drunken manner. None of the above appeals to me, although on occasion it makes for a good laugh.
Then, there’s the good side of town, inclusive of the Old Museum. Neatly tucked out of the way (as most of the venues I frequent these days are), right on the edge of the Valley, tonight it is the most magical place to be in Brisbane… as it is on most nights it’s open. The beautiful old building is lit up, complacent, and filled with the kind of people I love – quiet, polite, and obviously with some actual flavour in their music tastes.
Kicking the evening off is Drones drummer-turned-singer-songwriter, Mike Noga. I’m a semi-stalker of Noga, having seen him 4 times now since his release of The Balladeer Hunter, which if you haven’t heard already, you really should. In fact, head here right now and have a squiz.
Noga’s gravely voice echoed throughout the auditorium, filling our ears with the slow rock songs of The Balladeer Hunter. Songs such as M’belle, Piss On a Butterfly, and a song that always warms the heart of the audience, All My Friends Are Alcoholics rolled through the crowd. Punters casually sat and basked in his uncomplicated and delightful demeanor.
Glenn Richards, Dan Luscombe and Noga have been on tour for some time now. Refreshed from the night before in Maroochydore (which, as I heard was quite possibly the worst gig in the history of man-kind, inclusive of vanilla favoured smoke machines), the three of them were all humbled and amazed by both the crowd and the venue. Step one of wooing an audience is obviously pretty much the same as wooing a promiscuous lay: tell them how much better they were than the night before and they’ll do anything you ask.
After having seen what has stuck with me as a pompous Glenn Richards at numerous previous gigs (although I have to admit it was only towards the end of Augie March that I’d had the pleasure), I was overwhelmed when he chimed in with a sincere humbleness. Very happy to be in company of a welcoming crowd after the night before, he and his comrade Dan Luscombe (also guitarist from the Drones) played an awe-inspiring set. Filled with numerous tracks from Richards’ solo record, Glimjack as well as numerous Augie March favourites such as One Crowded Hour and a beautiful version of Here Comes The Night, with much of the set so delicate and perfect, it was enough to send shivers down my spin on numerous occasions.
The format of the evening was very relaxed; taking on a lounge feel with long gaps of extended conversation, mostly tales of the road between both Richards and Luscombe (the most memorable being Richards’ strange bedtime snoring behaviours), with occasional quipps from Noga. Such a refreshing evening from some of Australia’s best musicians, in one of the best locations possible.