Live Review: Cash Savage & The Last Drinks, Jep & Dep, Brett Marshall

8 August 2016 | 10:54 am | Chris Familton

"[Savage draws] the audience into her world with a slow build in mood and intensity."

Cash Savage pulled a large crowd for her first Sydney show in quite a while and though the evening took on a rousing, celebratory feel toward the end, the lead-up to the headline set was one of subdued and stately country and folk music.

Brett Marshall (The Last Drinks, Mightiest Of Guns) was in understated yet commanding form with fiddle and a second guitarist filling out songs that took in both Australian folk and moody country. When he added more character to his voice and opened up his singing there were tantalising hints of where Marshall might be heading.

Jep & Dep are masters of atmospheric music. With lights dimmed, a great sound mix and songs that possess an austere beauty and an arthouse intimacy, they quickly had an attentive audience - apart from a lone barking voice at the bar who Darren Cross acknowledged with a seething "hey, woman at the bar, stop fucking talking". New tracks from their forthcoming album were aired, indicating it will be a strong set of songs and though the between-song banter was often thick with black humour, when it comes to performing their songs the duo are deadly serious.

Cash Savage is something of an enigma on the local scene. Word of mouth and reputation for her live shows has built a strong following. She's slightly out of step with the times too. Too rock for the Americana scene, too raw and real for the indie world. That matters little when she steps on stage though, surrounded by her fine band The Last Drinks - all exceptional players who serve the songs as a collective unit. Clearly the leader of the pack, Savage showed she knows how to pace a set and draw the audience into her world with a slow build in mood and intensity. It's nearly mid-set before she really lets loose that bluesy, howl that bleeds authenticity and draws on real emotion. Recent single Rat-A-Tat-Tat and Run With The Dogs proved to be strong highlights with limbs in the audience swirling and punching the air while the band rode The Bad Seeds-like, tumbling and crashing momentum. Cash Savage is the real deal - a blend of showmanship and broodiness, like a strange yet compelling hybrid of Ian Curtis and Elvis Presley.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter