Music Review: Paul Kelly More Songs from the South Concert at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle - Page 2

Kelly's interaction with his band members and the audience was warm and casual. Local boy Cameron Bruce, the “highest singer in the band” had a terrific solo opening on “Love Never Runs on Time”, while Ashley Nayor's lead guitar was so well integrated with Kelly's that it was often hard to tell who was playing. Naylor had some brilliant solos though throughout the concert, at times panting from the intensity of it. As for Paul, he changed guitars after each song, and had so many different ones throughout the show that one member of the audience shouted “How many guitars ya got Paul?”. His harmonica too was in full force, whining and crying in perfect sync with his voice and fingers.

The whole thing moved along through two hours of music and multiple encores, ending with a well staged exit, one band member at a time; finishing with the light drumwork of Peter Luscombe. All in all, this was a brilliant show, full of balance, high energy fun, exquisite musicianship, and the deep introspection that we've come to expect from Kelly's considerable oeuvre.

Article Author: Maggie Ball

Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the novels Black Cow and Sleep Before Evening, the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, …

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