Live Review: Dan Kelly, Richard In Your Mind

You know, that random guy who looms out of the darkness, more beer on his shirt than in the glass, and starts the loud conversation - mostly with himself: “I know Dan,” he declares. “Met him 25 years ago at a gig in Nimbin.”

I wait for him to say how much he loves To Her Door, but the slurred chat was happily interrupted by a wave of sitar. Thank you, Richard In Your Mind. This song is called Karma. Really.

The Dicks go from sleepy sea-shanty Crew Of The Neptune, via some circa-1963 Beatles harmonies, to prog-ish jamming with that sitar and an elderly synth, all under the gaze of a candlelit photographic shrine to the eponymous Richard “Who’s not with us…” before the calming clarification: “He’s not dead – he’s just in Queensland.” A ditty of getting Hammered in the morning seems a reasonable punctuation point.

Curtains re-open to a DayGlo plastic and/or inflatable tropical island setting. Much suitable for Dan Kelly’s sometimes wry ponderings. The latest incarnation of his Dream Band scatter among the artificial palm trees, falling comfortably into the tram-ride ramble of Dan Kelly’s Dream. Others songs address more mundane concerns – like musing on collecting the Baby Bonus. The band chug along, added colour and movement from inner-city mermaid backing singers, who are introduced as Kelly cousins. This may cut down on touring costs.

The plaintive community singalong of Drunk On Election Night, loudly reconfirms the ‘cocksuckers and motherfuckers’ are currently in charge. There’s new ones from an album due next year: tales of National Parks and “a guitar tech obsessed with The Superjesus’ Sarah McLeod”. Then back to the more familiar whirlpool of the Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam’s surreal view of the future. Crowd exit sometimes puzzled, but entertained.