2001 Tour dates

New Zealand

3 February Auckland

Bruce Mason Theatre

Australia

5 February Sydney

Enmore Theatre

8 February Melbourne

Concert Hall

10 February Canberra

Tilleys

13 February Brisbane

Tivoli Theatre

15 February Perth

Octagon Theatre

17 February Adelaide

Womadelaide

18 February Adelaide

Womadelaide

        The opening act: Bernard Carney, local folk-club stalwart and Bard of Rottnest Island -- he has a pleasant enough line in ragtime guitar and comic numbers, but was not exactly a challenging or exciting choice. THE MAN: Half-way through the first interval, the new-agey background music gave way abruptly to -- Bobby Gentry (? that song about dark deeds on the Tallahatchie? Bridge), Procul Harum (Whiter Shade of Pale, the first song Nicki's parent's ever danced to), then a modern sounding female singer I didn't recognise, finishing just as the lights faded and RT bounded on ... - --- He was a little shorter than I'd imagined (isn't everyone?), with rather stumpy legs and a slightly knock-kneed stance while playing. The outfit? Black. (Surprise, surprise.) The classic 'Freedom for Tooting' look. Nicki claimed to find the sight of nipples prominent beneath a soft black t-shirt 'disturbing', but would not elucidate further. Beret pulled back tightly, forming three symmetrical 'horns'. A big grin, and a manner that seemed equally compounded of nervous energy and diffidence. You can't tell me that RT doesn't have some Asian blood in him somewhere. I've noticed this before, in photos, but it was still more striking in the flesh. Even some of his mannerisms - -- we've had a Japanese guest staying with us for several weeks, and RT's crinkly, slightly embarrassed smile, accompanied by a bob of the head and narrowed eyes, was instantly recognisable.

    I came discreetly armed with pen and paper, but it was too dark to take notes. I could recreate the setlist from memory, if anyone asks. It seemed essentially identical to the recently reported ones, even down to the 'requests'. ('Beeswing' and 'Dimming'.) No 'Mr Rebound', though. 'Bathsheba' to start, followed by a manic 'Crawl Back' -- the vocal coda was positively frenzied. A slight hitch at the start, when he paused in the first chorus for audience participation and got blank silence, causing him to lose his place. It was a bit much to expect from the audience, really, not having warned them, and only the second song of the night. I wondered if this was his way of seeing how many people out there had bought his latest CD. They got the idea quickly, though, and joined in enthusiastically enough for the rest of the song. I've said that the evening had few purely musical surprises -- the biggest one for me was just how LOUD it was. A bit too loud for the intimate acoustic, really. I'm not sure if it was the mix, or just RT's ferocious musical attack, both vocally and instrumentally, even on some of the quieter songs. It tended to flatten out the sound. Personally, I would have liked a little more deliberation, on occasion. The unremitting intensity seemed, at times, almost defensive, as if it was keeping the audience at a certain distance. Having said that, the next song, 'Cold Kisses', was dark and moody and controlled. It was Nicki's favourite performance of the night, and it received an equally positive response from the forthcoming Paterson (now _in utero_, known to us, for complex reasons, as 'Angelfish Junior', or 'AFJ'). I'm told AFJ's other favourite, suitably enough, I suppose, was 'My Daddy is A Mummy'. This concert was undoubtedly the most intense auditory experience he (we _think_ it's a he) has had -- it will probably scar him (?) for his (?) life to come, one way or the other ...

I won't list all the other songs -- it was a good two hour show, without a break, except for string replacements and chit-chat. Highlights? The powerful and harrowing 'Shoot Out The Lights', certainly. (Oddly relieved, in one of the instrumentals, but a funny little folk twiddle, like a tiny jig.) 'Uninhabited Man' definitely answers my question about which of the 'Mock Turtle' songs have gained most stature in perofrmance, although I still wouldn't place it quite in the absolute top rank of 'classic' RT songs. Great to hear solid versions of 'Turning of the Tide' and 'When the Spell is Broken'. 'Dry My Tears' seemed a bit skimpy without a band. 'Sights and Sounds' sounded fabulous, but lyrically I find it a bit like watching old re-runs of 'The Bill'. 'Walking the Long Miles Home' was a pleasure. The guitar work. What can I say? I have to admit something: I think that RT is the most overrated underrated guitarist in the business. Of course he's brilliant, extraordinary, amazing: but I can see why his playing hasn't made him many friends in the 'real' world. It's easier to praise than to really like. I don't mean that negatively, it's just that his current style of playing doesn't really seem to WANT to be liked, on the one hand, while not wanting unduly to impress on the other. It's as if the guitar speaks a language of its own, knotty and austere, unconcerned by whoever is listening, but of intense personal meaning -- to judge by the scowls and grimaces that accompany it. I loved the guitar work, personally, for all its Celtic knottiness: the way that traditional motifs have become a natural part of its idiom, even in songs that make no pretence to 'folkiness'; its determination to explore complex landscapes rather than make pretty pictures; its almost Puritan unwillingness to over-indulge for the sake of sheer sensual gratification (ooh-er!). I wish that this style was more evident in his recordings. (I can see, for commercial reasons, why it isn't.) I can't help feeling a little sad, though, that it seems to have become an instrument for scratching certain complex and difficult itches -- pain, anger, fear, frustration -- at the expense of certain others -- hinted at in the coda to 'Valerio'