The Dead South, Bar on the Hill, January 24
Bluegrass tinged with blood, sex and violence. How could you resist.
The Dead South phenomenon blew through the Bar on the Hill in Newcastle on Tuesday night, with nearly 1000 fans getting their bellyful of the band's original brew of contemporary Canadian folk bluegrass.
It was the fourth show of their debut Australian tour, following Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney.
While a band with a cello, mandolin, banjo and guitar don't really allow airspace to slow down - especially with the occasional kick drum pushing the rhythm, the show climbed higher and higher into the night, and the crowd knew what was coming - there was no encouragement needed as the sound of fans singing back the song lyrics grew louder and louder.
Their songs hit you head-on, with fast-picking banjo, mandolin segues, perfect cello harmonies and lead singer Nate Hilts throaty vocals.
The blood and guts is built into the songs.
The Recap opens with Well we're all wasted, in a bar somewhere downtown when a man walks up and pokes me with a knife. You get the idea where we're going.
We may be Canadians and Australians in this room, but the tragic stench of Irish balladry hangs thick in the air. The band's anthemic song, The Dead South, opens with Oh pass the rum on down the line it's getting pretty cold and builds into a powerful singalong (no encouragement was necessary, the fans knew the lyrics to all the big ones).
The Bastard Son provokes an even bigger response. The line I just want liquor and dirty whores rings through the air.
It's a humid night - perfect for this music, with the smell of sweat, booze and perfume permeating a room of more than 800 people (warmed up by the rousing rock act The Hooten Hallers). The heat is bellowing out of the room through the doors of the verandah, and the boys on stage are relishing the moment.
The crescendo had to be In Hell, I'll Be in Good Company, played near the end of the set. A tale of lost love and blood and death. From the haunting opening whistling of cello player Danny Kenyon, to the abbreviated jig steps of mandolin player Scott Pringle and Hilts, the choreography is simple and powerful. The crowd absorbs it all, becoming one with the band.
That song blew up bigtime when the video was released in 2017, three years after it had been on their album Good Company. It's been viewed more than 200million times, and brought them to the attention of the world. And they've never looked back.
To top off the night, they finish the encore with Banjo Odyssey, the story of a cousin running off with his cousin because she "needed some sweet lovin'." It's a masterful song, and generates a huge response, perhaps fans also knowing it's the last song of the show.
A simple recipe of fine musicianship, bawdy songs and simple choreography. What a night.
