Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: Jason Rosewarne
It was a sold out show at 170 Russell in Melbourne for the Celebrating Neil Young Tribute – From Harvest to Harvest Moon with an all-star line up featuring Jeff Martin (The Tea Party), Shane Nicholson and Richie Lewis (Tumbleweed), including a stellar backing band.
We arrived early and so did everyone else. We have never seen such a huge queue waiting to get in the venue. There were hundreds of fans queued down the side street and filling up the side alley way. I always have a chuckle that there is an oyster bar in the side street with a bain-marie assortment of fresh oysters that the queue passes as you make your way in. The vendor stands at the open serving window and looks on with hope, but unfortunately it’s the last thing you feel like as you head into a gig. When we got inside the bandroom, it was already chockers, very noisy and lively with fans young and old enjoying a few drinks and chatting amongst themselves.
Jeff Martin is a Canadian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known as the frontman of The Tea Party. Shane Nicholson is an Australian singer/songwriter and is known for his blend of country, folk and Americana music. Richie Lewis is the lead vocalist of Australian grunge rock band Tumbleweed.
SET ONE:
The first set was a mellow chilled mix of Neil Young classics. The six-piece band came out on stage with Richie Lewis on lead vocals for the first three songs. They opened with HEY HEY, MY MY (Into the Black) and the crowd were singing along from the get go: “Rock and roll can never die”. Another Neil Young & Crazy Horse song followed with EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE from the album of the same title released back in 1969. This country-influenced song allowed Stefanie Duzels’ strong backing vocals to shine through. The iconic Neil Young song POWDERFINGER showcased the wonderful musicianship on stage.
The 6-piece Backing Band:
Paul McDonald – Lead guitar
Stefanie Duzel – Backing vocals / acoustic guitar / lead vocals on a few songs
Mark Tobin – Rhythm guitar
Stefano Cosentino – bass guitar
Gareth Richards – drums
Bradley Christmas – Keys / Harmonica / backing vocals
Shane Nicholson entered the fray and performed the next three songs with an outstanding rendition of DOWN BY THE RIVER, OHIO and COMES A TIME, which saw Nicholson also play harmonica. Shane’s vocals were the perfect choice for these beautiful songs and you could see the enjoyment on the faces of the band as they played these timeless classics.
Australian alt-country musician, Stefanie Duzel was also a standout this evening singing backing vocals and playing acoustic guitar on the majority of songs. Duzel sang lead vocals on AFTER THE GOLD RUSH with just her and Brad Christmas on piano which was stunning. The band came back and joined them for ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK YOUR HEART and Duzel’s angelic vocals had the crowd completely mesmerised.
Jeff Martin finally came out on stage dressed all in black, wearing a fedora hat and grey scarf. He finished the first set with the final two songs. In the intro he talked about growing up in Canada and the massive influence Neil Young had on his life and musical career. As he led into a solo rendition of NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE, he talked about the highs and lows of the rock business and by lows he meant how many of his musician friends had lost their lives ‘chasing the dragon’ using needles. He dedicated the song to those lost ones as he sat on a barstool and sang a very deep and heartfelt rendition of this song while playing acoustic guitar. HELPLESS followed and Martin got the crowd singing along as one giant harmonious pub choir. As Martin closed out the first set, he announced that they will return shortly to ramp things up and rock the f’kn house in the second set.
SET TWO:
The second set had Richie Lewis open with the slow and gentle UNKNOWN LEGEND from Harvest Moon (1992) and OLD MAN from Harvest (1972). This was one of the crowd favourites for the evening and made me think of my old man. As Richie led into FUCKIN’ UP he told the crowd that when he was practicing this song at home around his kids he had to change the lyrics to Muckin’ Up!.
Shane Nicholson came out and did a slow bluesy, alt country rendition of TONIGHTS THE NIGHT that built up to a crescendo, becoming quite fierce by the end. He then continued on with the same ferocity with a killer version of CORTEZ THE KILLER. They completely tore up the stage with LIKE A HURRICANE and the crowd went crazy. This was a favourite part of the evening for me. Nicholson’s gravelly voice was spot on and I really enjoyed his powerful guitar solos along with Paul McDonald shredding it up along side him.
Jeff Martin came back on to sing the last four songs of the second set. He talked about the unity and spirit of the band and how much they all loved and enjoyed playing this Neil Young tribute, saying they all have a heart of gold (pun) as they led into that very song …HEART OF GOLD. Martin stood up front and centre of stage without a guitar saying that sometimes you have to put the guitar down and do your best Liam Gallagher impersonation (laughed). He just played a tambourine and chuckled about how tiny the tambourine was and during the song, got it tangled in his scarf. Stefanie Duzel announced ‘this is my last song tonight’ as she sang the beautiful POCAHONTAS. Jeff Martin returned to sing HARVEST MOON and dedicated it to all the lovers in the audience and to his wife Melissa who was there tonight. He concluded with my favourite song of the evening, CINNAMON GIRL which was an absolute banger.
All three lead singers came out for the encore with Jeff Martin talking about how powerful and relevant Neil Young’s protest song KEEP ON ROCKIN IN THE FREE WORLD was back in 1989 and still is now. This song was brilliant and a fitting end and tribute to a magnificent, nostalgic evening celebrating Neil Young’s music.
SET LIST:
Set 1 –
Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) – (Richie Lewis)
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere – (Richie Lewis)
Powderfinger – (Richie Lewis)
Down By The River – (Shane Nicholson)
Ohio – (Shane Nicholson)
Comes A Time – (Shane Nicholson)
After the Gold Rush – (Stefanie Duzel)
Only Love Can Break Your Heart – (Stefanie Duzel)
Needle and the Damage Done – (Jeff Martin)
Helpless – (Jeff Martin)
Set 2 –
Unknown Legend – (Richie Lewis)
Old Man – (Richie Lewis)
Fuckin’ Up – (Richie Lewis)
Tonight’s The Night – (Shane Nicholson)
Cortez the Killer – (Shane Nicholson)
Like A Hurricane – (Shane Nicholson)
Heart of Gold – (Jeff Martin)
Pochahontas – (Stefanie Duzel)
Harvest Moon – (Jeff Martin)
Cinnamon Girl – (Jeff Martin)
Encore:
Rockin In The Free World – (All)
