Live Review: Henry Wagons & The Only Children, Leah Senior

There’s contradictions to Leah Senior. She appears that slightly awkward girl with the bob in Doc Martens, who has a lot of Joni Mitchell records. But then self-deprecates with songs about ex-boyfriends, stupid and/or handsome. She’s one moment rabbit-in-the-headlights shy, then glances up and sings straight to your heart, while nervously explaining she’s not good at long-distance relationships.

If Senior is the bunny on the road, Henry Wagons is more the hyperactive wallaby bouncing, encouraging audience participation from the off by leading a slow handclap intro before heading into the moods of his debut ‘solo’ record, After What I Did Last Night.

Despite ticking off the bucket list item of recording an album in Nashville, Wagons might be a bit less beholden to the country traditions, although Head Or Heart twangs in accepted manner and gives this new band — featuring Melbourne guitar luminary Matt Walker and Wagons’ Nashville producer, Skylar Wilson, on honky tonk piano and Booker T-ish organ rolls — a chance to stretch.

Naturally Wagons is storytelling, riffing on the Friday the 13th date, parting the crowd Red Sea-like as he takes his regular bonding excursions down into the masses. Then he catches you off-guard with the apparent sincerity of Only Child, or his ever-fine take on the ‘fat Elvis’-era Never Been To Spain. The ladies of All Our Exes Live In Texas turn up to sweetly harmonise on Give Things A Chance To Mend before things get raucous again with the unapologetically boastful Only Sane Motherfucker, Drive All Night Till Dawn and the obligatory final run at the joyous singalong bellow of Willie Nelson, which Wagons mostly conducts from down among the mob on the floor. He finishes up as sweaty and happy as the paying customers.