Timber and Steel

Image Courtesy of Passenger

Passenger supported by Busby Marou
26th November 2010, The Vanguard
Sydney

While Passenger (AKA singer-songwriter Mike Rosenberg) might hail from England he has become somewhat of an honourary Australian in recent months, touring the country extensively both by himself and supporting the likes of Matt Corby and Boy & Bear and releasing his album Flight of the Crow featuring collaborations with some of Australia’s best and brightest musicians. Passenger’s show at Sydney’s The Vanguard on the 26th November (supported by Busby Marou) was originally meant to be the final date in his national tour (more shows have since been added) before the festival season.

When I found out that Busby Marou would be supporting Passenger on his Sydney leg of the tour I was over the moon. I have been a fan of the North Queensland duo since I discovered them on triple j during NAIDOC Week this year (going onto feature them on Timber and Steel) and have been looking forward to catch them when next they crossed my path. Busby Marou didn’t disappoint in their support slot. The laidback acoustic-folk music heard on Busby Marou’s recordings extends to their live show with the boys delivering a cheerful, relaxed performance. While it was obvious Busby Marou were a little awed by playing a venue like The Vanguard in Sydney, they took everything in their stride, sharing with the audience stories of their travels throughout Australia. Their songs were instantly likeable, their harmonies pitch perfect and their musicianship (in particular Jeremy Marou’s lead guitar licks) a joy to watch. I just wish Busby Marou had indulged the audience with more than one song featuring the ukulele.

The applause that greeted Passenger as he made his way on stage was testament to the audience that he has managed to grow in the past couple of years. Selling out a venue like The Vanguard is a long way from busking on the streets of Sydney (where Passenger’s Australian music career began) and it would be safe to say that most people who were at the gig were Passenger fans, not just curious music lovers.

Mike Rosenberg began his set with the warning to “those that haven’t been to a Passenger show before” that the experience was not going to be a happy one. Anyone familiar with Passenger’s back catalogue will know that it is a litany of tales about heartbreak, rejection and loss. So it was a refreshing juxtaposition just how affable, funny and engaging Passenger was on stage when relating to his audience. So many of Rosenberg’s contemporaries (including artists he has toured and collaborated with) seem to spend their live sets avoiding eye contact and conversation with their audiences (letting their music do the talking) which can be alienating and frustrating. But Passenger built an immediate rapport with the crowd, opening himself up and making everyone there feel at home.

Passenger’s solo acoustic show would be one of the best I have seen all year. His ability to tell a story through his music that is both endeering and confronting is a unique gift. At several times throughout the night I turned around to see members of the audience in tears as he wove yet another tale of loss or tragedy. His simple fingerpicking style and sweet vocals evoked the likes of Bob Dylan and Richard Thompson but were also undeniably contemporary in their delivery and style.

Having just released an album of collaborations it was probably not surprising that most of Passenger’s performance consisted of songs not found on Flight of the Crow – many of the album’s tracks lean heavily on Passenger dueting with a wide variety of artists, something that is almost impossible to pull off live. Of the Flight of the Crow songs Passenger did adapt for his solo performance probably my favourite was “Golden Thread” which became a beautifully simple acoustic track removed from Matt Corby’s looping guitars and vocals.

Of course an appearance by at least one of Flight of the Crow‘s collaborators was to be expected and the audience was not disappointed when Passenger was joined by Josh Pyke for “What You’re Thinking”. Passenger introduced Pyke as one of the first Australian artists he had worked with and their camaraderie was instantly obvious. The duet was an almost note perfect rendition of the song and may well have served to sell more than one album at the merch desk later that night.

Overall the night proved to be one of the best gigs of the year. The audience was engaged from the moment Busby Marou got on stage to the point at which Passenger admitted he was planning on doing an encore and we should just play along. With Passenger constantly adding future solo dates, festival slots and support spots it looks as though the English singer-songwriter will be fully adopted by the nation before long. Get yourself along to a Passenger gig sooner rather than later and experience one of the best live contemporary folk acts in the country.