Reviewed on Monday March 21
Let me be the first to say, “Holy shit biscuits, Batman” – St. Paul and The Broken Bones are freakin’ incredible. Playing the Metro for their first ever Australian performance, the Alabama soulsters tore the goddamn roof off the joint, and I’m not sure how any of us were walking straight as we stumbled stunned into the night afterwards. It’s rare to find an act who are so passionately old school yet are able to somehow spin such a contemporary show, one replete with vaudeville theatrics and revival-tent exuberance. Hell, I’m still dancing twelve hours later.
After a rousing instrumental opening (featuring a three-piece horn section, Hammond organ, drum, electric, and bass) St. Paul himself appeared, working the stage with a fervour few others can match. Having recently interviewed the Birmingham native, I’d learnt that Tom Waits and Nick Cave were both strong inspirations. It shows – the man seduced the crowd with mock-lascivious winks and a broad Cheshire Cat smile, beckoning us closer like acolytes before a glaring new messiah. His religious upbringing shone through, echoing that particularly American blend of worship and showmanship.
The Broken Bones are a damned tight act – with particular props to their saxophonist, whose early solo blew me away – but it is St. Paul who demands your attention. As he himself admitted, there may have been many in the audience unfamiliar with their songs – they were, after all, a fresh presence. But the energy with which they delivered songs like ‘Sugar Dyed’, ‘Broken Bones & Pocket Change’ and ‘I’m Torn Up’ had the crowd hypnotised.
With the addition of some core covers, this turned out to be one hell of a gig. Tom Waits’ ‘Make It Rain’ was a highlight, and there was great fun to be had in The Beatles’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’. The set culminated in a refrain of ‘Try A Little Tenderness’, and I can conceive of a no more appropriate finish for a band poised to take Bluesfest by storm. Goddamn, gentlemen. That was one hell of a show.
