Live Review: Jack Carty & Casual Psychotic, Dan Parsons

Plenty of intrigue surrounded the launch of The Predictable Crises Of Modern Life, with the secret till last minute location setting the scene, complete with Jack Carty's co-writer the Casual Psychotic staying a resolutely anonymous face in the crowd. The intimate surrounds tucked away upstairs at Hibernian House in Surry Hills, candle light and floor pillows serving to reinforce the impression that the night would be saying a few words or three about the common human experience.

Dan Parsons opened the night with a set that pre-empted his own album launch, following it up by accompanying Carty's band on the piano. Carty began the evening with She Loves Me from his previous album, Break Your Own Heart, which had been released to wide success only just last year, shortly before introducing the band, including his good friend Jordan Miller, playing both the bass and double bass. As was later shown, there was little doubt Carty could have simply carried the night on his own, with his last year of touring the world mostly solo lending an impressive ability to keeping the audience spellbound. Nevertheless, the raw talent of the collective artistry on the stage made for a package combination that gave to the music a resonance that resonated down to the bone.

As the EP was only six tracks in length (and skipping Intermission due to the need to have his granddad along for the vocals), Break Your Own Heart featured heavily on the night, to the absolute delight of the crowd. The mellower What Does Your Heart Say? from the new EP got more than a few head nods, as if people couldn't decide whether they wanted to agree with the words or dance to them, though the previously released She's Got A Boyfriend meant plenty of dancing from a crowd already hooked. Reasons To Be Afraid, although last on the track listing for the new EP, was perhaps the highlight of the night, with plenty of people still mouthing the words as they reluctantly walked out the door long after things had wrapped up.