Ed KuepperNewtown's Vanguard played host to a guy who goes by the name Ed Kuepper, this the third and final night of his mini-residency, the gig being touted as 'solo' and 'by request', the latter tag bringing out a few clowns who not only yelled out the more obscure tracks from an extensive back catalogue but also gave their own live renditions to assist the now 62-year-old's memory. This would draw a sometimes blunt response but the former Laughing Clowns frontman mostly took it in his stride, always quick to point out he wasn't really the grumpy person he had over the years gained the reputation for being (footnote: his best retort on the night came when someone asked what he picked up during the Nick Cave tour, his reply: “I got sick”).
Armed with a sound guy, a quiver of acoustics and what looked like Irish whiskey (Jameson's maybe) Kuepper slew his way through close to three hours of music, with a bit of in-between ranting and the odd intriguing background story. One of the more interesting yarns was an insight into the love/hate relationship he has with Stranded, which, he pointed out, was one of those songs he hadn't been able to quite nail as an unplugged version, due in part to its iconic status and his satisfaction with the version recorded in 1974 – he was more than happy to give the B-side, No Time, a decent crack though. Despite an understandably slippery memory when it came to the less popular songs and some noticeable disdain for certain requests (and the odd flat-out refusal) Kuepper proved to be a likeable guy and was generally happy to indulge the audience, playing some choice cuts such as By The Way, Swing For The Crime and Sixteen Days from a career that spans about 40 years and counting, and shows no signs yet of coming to an end.
