Review: Tim Freedman, Gossling, Holland @ the Zoo
Friday November 11
Celebrating the release of his new solo album, Australian Idle, Tim Freedman and company were at the Zoo tonight.
Kicking of the night’s festivities were locals Holland. With a chilled indie-folk-rock vibe about them, mixing both acoustic and full-band tracks into the set. One highlight was definitely their new single, No Control.
Following Holland was sweetheart Gossling. The floating folk tunes accompanied by the ever so delightful vocals of singer-songwriter Helen Croome certainly helps create an ambience about the room filled with punters awaiting the arrival of the one and only Freedman. The set was one filled with numerous well-rotated tracks, inclusive of the cover of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’s Dance The Way I Feel.
With a sensation much like the Old Museum tonight, the standing audience fighting for the best viewpoint has been replaced by tables and seats of relaxing gazers. The mood is dramatically chilled, and quite possibly the best way to spend a Friday evening.
Soon, Mr. Freedman joined the stage, to the audience’s delight. He has this straw hat “thing” going on at the moment, perhaps creating a different persona from his Whitlams self? Toting a bottle of white wine (after all, it was a very humid eve), he burst straight into the set, many tracks straight off the press of Australian Idle, including Peter Brown, Back When We Were Beautiful, Girlfriend Heaven, There Was A Time and Old Man, which was quite a groovier uplift from the other tracks, and a great track 1 for the album.
The Piano, whilst always a dominant feature of the Whitlams set, is even more so a huge feature in his set. As usual, he threw some witty banter about the room, claiming that when playing with the Whitlams, he was always the best looking in the band, although with this new band, he’s the worst (and the ladies in the audience pipe up in his defence on cue).
I honestly cannot think of a nicer, happier, more relaxing way to enjoy entry into the weekend.
Australian Idle is now available.