The band was tight, with solid performances from each of the members, though Sam Teskey’s guitar playing particularly shone through. Instead, The Teskey Brothers are well versed in soul and blues, with a number of their songs bringing to mind some of those old greats from both genres. Given the headliner I was probably expecting something rooted in the folk or roots genres. Even then, what I got proved to be a surprise, albeit a welcome one. Having never seen The Teskey Brothers before, nor heard any of their output, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. But the album also shows maturity, both musically (“Comfortable In My Skin” – about Rudd’s surgery – is a gem with earnest vocals and a back-porch harmonica) and thematically, as the musician continues to enjoy and process the beauty and wonder of life.Friday night saw the South Lawn of the Fremantle Arts Centre play host to the penultimate night of Xavier Rudd’s Storm Boy Australian tour, joining Rudd for the evening were Victoria’s The Teskey Brothers.
Its representative of Rudds career, as the sparse and warm ∿ollow The Sun could have slipped onto 2004s Solace (and the way Rudd croons the word society conjures Into the Wild images yet again this time of Eddie Vedders soundtrack to the film), quiet Mystery Angel represents his sentimental side (You were there for me when I couldnt find myself), and the nearly instrumental, ten-minute ∿ull Circle dedicates itself almost solely to the guitar, which Rudd has an enormous talent for. Spirit Bird is exactly what any musician would want out of a seventh record. Spirit Birds 13 tracks embody this, as well as divulge deep emotion (times get tough for a bed-ridden surfer dude undergoing major surgery) and ever-continuing musical growth from a man who plays various types of guitar and drums, as well as the didgeridoo often all at once when onstage.įor several tracks, Rudd took a page out of Portlandias Moleskine and put a bird on several songs, including didgeridoo-heavy album opener Lioness Eye, ∻utterfly a delicate tropical tune which the singer says a bird in a tree sang back to him, line by line, while recording– and the title track, which Rudd wrote about a red-tailed black cockatoo that looked right through my eyes, right through the depths of my soul. He also called this the albums chief – with good reason, as it showcases his talent for restraint, ability to blend beautifully with a childrens choir, and capability for belting through the last fourth of a song as if emitting his final notes. The wilderness adventurer and the indie rocker share an unparalleled appreciation for ones connection to the Earth and a fervor to live life for the journey, not the destination. If Into the Wilds Chris McCandless had cared deeply about the rights of the Aborigines, played the didgeridoo, and dyed his unkempt hair a surfer blonde, he would have had just about everything in common with Australian musician Xavier Rudd.
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