Timber and Steel

Image courtesy of Matt Corby

Matt and Your Take Sessions captured this rendition of Big Eyes immediately after his set at his Stirling (SA) leg of his Secret Garden Tour.

Many Timber & Steel readers around Australia would have had the pleasure in recent months of attending a leg of Matt Corby‘s Secret Garden Tour. I had been hearing great things down the grape vine from the shows in the eastern states, and when I finally managed to find the very well hidden secret garden in Stirling, South Australia, I could tell that we were in for something very special too.

Stirling is a beautiful part of South Australia. Its unbelievably vibrant green, rolling profile casts little nooks and nests everywhere; so much so that it actually reminds me of the those wonderful scenes in Lord Of The Rings of springtime Hobbiton. Truly the most wholesome corner of suburbia I’ve come across. The particular house hosting Matt Corby‘s gig was no exception. The sprawling grass slope gave an excellent, amphitheatre-like view for all; which was bordered beautifully by leafy trees.

Supporting Matt on the day were local coast-pop sweetheart Laura Hill and Barossa Valley lad (and long lost childhood neighbour/friend of mine, incidentally) Sam Brittain. Both friendly artists went down well with the relaxed crowd, and by the time Matt‘s set began, he was running well overtime.

Unlike the rest of the Timber & Steel alumni, I’m not a particularly avid listener of Matt‘s recorded works. I’ve loved everything I’ve heard (especially live videos and sessions on Youtube), but this show was the first time I’d actually sat down and listened to Matt‘s songs for any substantial length of time. I was obvious right from word go that these small, one of a kind gigs are really Matt‘s element. His sparse compositions and gusty, whispered vocals require a level of complete attentiveness to appreciate fully. The crowd’s silent respect made it difficult to determine which songs went down the smoothest. “Brother”, of course, being the only exception.

Matt was kind enough to stick around after his set and sportingly record this video with local Adelaidian session-makers Your Take Sessions. Unfortunately, by this time the sun had well ant truly gone down, but although the splendour of the garden is somewhat lost, the surrounding darkness provides a wonderful, eerie feel.