Live Review: Ed Kuepper

With the varied requests coming thick and fast, Kuepper gracefully declined the first request for The Way I Made You Feel, joking that it was "a little early in the show for that" and instead opened with Horse Under Water, a song that he claimed was "inspired by what could've been a true story". What followed was a spellbinding two-hour deconstruction that more than proved the man's undoubted musical genius.

Following up with Car Headlights, Kuepper was at first hesitant to play the next request, Black Ticket Day, this early in the show as well, but thankfully ceded when reminded that it was the 25th anniversary of its initial release. As he continued, Kuepper appeared to almost poke fun at the longevity of his career, claiming that one of his songs had been used as "a fundraising tune for the early-19th century Suffrage Movement" before delivering an amazing cut-back version of Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire.

Apparently having not played it for some time, Kuepper jokingly prefaced It's Lunacy by letting us all know that "any mistakes are Mark's fault" but, of course, there were none. While the evening was a definite homage to his enormous body of work, Pavane from 2015's Lost Cities served as a poignant reminder, if one was ever needed, that Kuepper continues to be an innovative, mesmerising songsmith.

Everything I've Got Belongs To You was played on the proviso that the audience joined in, which resulted in a sublime call-and-response chorus singalong that even seemed to leave the great man speechless for a moment. Kuepper then confirmed, with a wry smile, that he'd "never heard it quite like that before". This was followed up with the dynamic Electric Storm before Kuepper finished up his set with the first request of this evening: The Way I Made You Feel.

With the crowd obviously not yet ready to leave, Kuepper and Dawson returned to the stage. A rousing rendition of 1994's La Di Doh had the audience joyfully singing along before the duo finished up with Messin' With The Kid — a song that Kuepper first performed with The Saints on their legendary (I'm) Stranded album some 40 years ago.

In an age when most musicians come and go, Kuepper still stands tall as an icon of the Australian independent music scene. Over his extraordinary career, Kuepper has been a Saint, a Laughing Clown and an Aint among other things. This evening Kuepper proved that he's a national treasure.