DO NOT SING THIS SONG TO YOUR WIFE, DON'T DO IT!
Ok, let’s back up for a sec, I’m scrolling through my emails and see one and was like, “oh cool, the aussie singer-songwriter icon that is, of course, pete murray, is going on tour. I’ve seen pete live a few times now and he always puts on a good show, yeah i’m keen! not much else to really think about, yep, got it in my calendar, got a support worker/friend taking me, we’ll have a pub feed and a drink before the show, sounds like a bloody-brilliant friday night in newtown. good company, good food, cider and good live music, hell-yeah!” Couple of cider’s knocked back, ahhhh, …hmmm what’s this tour actually in celebration of? Pete doing a Swifty wasn’t it?
Now, I rock up at a sold-out Enmore Theatre, do some quick jumps and stretches, ready to do some head-banging in the mosh. Wait, where’s the moshpit? What’s all this seating bullsh**?! Just kidding, I mean no, it is actually all seating, would be quite funny to see full-on moshing at a Pete Murray concert. I mean I was going to sit regardless, sit back and relax for a change. I turn to my friend and say, “can you look up what this tour is in celebration for please”.
This tour isn’t in fact just to celebrate Pete becoming an independent artist and doing a Swifty, re-recording all his tracks on his own terms, this is apparently Pete’s first ever acoustic solo tour of Australia, AND he’s recently released a new single ‘I Am Fire’ Pretty epic! And it’s also pretty epic that the country of loyal fans will still sellout the Enmore for him, even when it’s a stripped-back acoustic solo show!
Now, some concerts I find it hard to write a full review on. I’ll thoroughly enjoy it yes, the sound mix, the bands sound, song choice, on-stage energy were all spot-on, but that can be said in, well, 19 words… now what? Tonight though, I’m going to have trouble not writing too much, peoples attention-spans don’t usually exceed around 1k words apparently.
The issue being this, I’ve been to 473 concerts prior to tonight, and none of them were like this. Yes, I’ve been to acoustic gigs before, sure, but not like this. (insert dramatic theatrical sounds here)
So Pete casually walks out onto the stage, and seemingly unrehearsed, chats to us, asking us if we’re nervous? I’m not he says, not nervous at all. Then he introduces us to the first song. Not too sure which song it is, regardless, it’s brilliant! The beautiful thing about this being a solo acoustic show, is that it’s literally just Pete’s hypnotic voice, his guitar, and occasionally harmonica, so the sound mix is I would imagine, easy to nail, and it does just that. Plus, no fancy lights to “accentuate” so the focus purely on Pete and his music.
“But Brendan, wouldn’t that get repetitive and boring after 90 minutes? Just a guy singing and strumming his guitar?”. Yeah I guess, oh well, review over, sorry guys, next time aye…
Just a couple more things before I go…
Normally I’d say yes, a guy simply singing and playing the guitar would get boring, but Pete’s storytelling, both heartfelt and incredibly humorous, with quick wit keeps my attention firmly locked and a big smile constantly on my face! I can’t say the same for the girls apparently in the row in front of my friend and I, Googling images of Pete Murray shirtless.
Some examples include, telling us how he’s a strong believer in fate and things happening for a reason. Example, Pete didn’t get into music until he was 22… wait, Pete only looks 25 to me? Pete tells us the story of how a close friend of his, and Pete, were hanging out one day, and his friend, Charles, announced “I’m going to buy myself a guitar and start getting lessons!”. So Pete thought, “Yeah, sounds like a cool idea, I might give that a go too”. So Pete went and bought an acoustic guitar, got a few lessons, and loved it. He said he spent the next two years practicing in his room over and over, not the whole two years, I did leave my room at times he said. Then after those two years, he called up Charles and said “come over, I’ve got something to show you”. Then Pete played these songs on the guitar for Charles, who was astounded, then tells Pete that he never ended up getting a guitar and lessons after all. That was apparently the last time he saw Charles, as a year later, Charles died of a brain aneurysm. Devastated and so thankful for Charles’s friendship and for accidentally igniting Pete’s passion for music, Pete named his son Charles.
Other stories included how when Pete was living/backpacking around England and Europe, he went over with his friend from Sneaky Sound System, and they rented a two bedroom flat in London… with 19 other Aussies. Pete and his fellow musician friend used to put on shows at night, Pete’s friend would play original songs, and Pete covers as he only played covers at that time, then one night, a girl told Pete to play an original song of his, which Pete replied, “I don’t have any” “why not?” “uhm, I just do covers” “you should write your own songs”. So, just so he was prepared, just in case he ever ran into that girl again, shortly after a guy in the flat started seeing one of the girls that rented out one of the rooms and the couple decided to make love, not in the room and bed where the girl stayed, no, out in the loungeroom, on the floor, next to Pete… “it never lasted long, that was my only comfort” Pete tells us, he backpacked around Europe and started writing his own music, just in case he ever ran into that girl again. So because of that, meeting the girl, not the close proximately quick love making I mean, Pete started writing his own music, leading to the songs we all know today.
I honestly can keep writing for several more pages about Pete’s stories, seemingly unrehearsed, but surely he’d have to know roughly what he’ll tell us and when. But one stand out hilarious, quick-witted moment was when he told us, after playing ‘So Beautiful’, how guys have come up and told him how they played that song at their wedding. “Mate, why? Seriously, do not sing that song to your wife!” with a chuckle. Then Pete says “it’s a song you should be singing to your wife, at a divorce maybe, but this isn’t a Coldplay concert” (or something along those lines). Everyone burst out laughing at the reference to the incident at a Coldplay concert the day before.
Just like the build up to the climax of a movie, no I’m not referencing the flat in England, after Pete splashes the set with all our favourite hits including ‘Opportunity’ which Pete tells us how he was lucky enough to meet John Mayer and have John sing it with Pete at the Aria’s one year, but in the rehearsals John was singing flat, which Pete was freaking out about, and how do you tell John Mayer he’s singing flat? You don’t. So when John says to Pete with a sigh of frustration, “I’m singing flat” Pete replies”Oh really” but in the end they both nailed it. The set also included hits like ‘Free’ ‘Always Winner’ and for the last couple of songs, when the audience were in intensely high spirits, filled to the brim with music and humour, he brings long-time touring and recording partner and opening support artist Brett Woods out to raise the buzzing atmosphere even higher, closing the night with the timeless hit, ‘Better Days’ with everyone singing along even more and louder than in previous songs, and got me and my friend standing and waving our arms side to side to the closing vocal melody with a huge smile on our faces!
So ask yourself, did that sound boring and repetitive to you?
Ps. Sorry for exceeding the typical attention span, honestly I could have kept going!