Henry WagonsThere are tables and chairs laid out in the side studio of the Old Museum, giving proceedings a stately vibe as local duo Laneway take the stage and start serenading the crowd with their folky tunes – Louise O'Reilly armed with an acoustic guitar and her expressive voice, partner-in-crime Paul Hannan favouring an electric – their voices melding together as they deliver the whimsical Sweet Asses. Songs like The Turbine meander along in a rush to nowhere, sometimes to their own detriment, but the delivery is warm and engaging. It's all a bit safe, even when they pull out stronger numbers like the country-tinged Bleeding Heart and rock things up a bit during closer Love Is A Devil, but people seem to enjoy their rustic charm nonetheless.
The crowd has swelled considerably by the time Henry Wagons takes the stage to launch his debut solo album Expecting Company? – he's abetted by the bulk of his normal band, Wagons, plus Kelly and Jane from Melbourne outfit The Nymphs to provide the female accompaniment for the duets which comprise the new album – and the stage is offset with huge banners featuring the silhouettes of Wagons and his unidentified female companion from the album's cover, emitting a classy vibe as they kick off with the bombastic I'm In Love With Mary Magdalene. They run through I Still Can't Find Her – the part of Robert Forster tonight played with aplomb by bassist Mark “Tuckerbag” Dawson – while Jane Nymph plays Jenn Grant's role during the poignant Give Things A Chance To Mend. Every song is dramatic, giving the clown prince Wagons the chance to play to his strengths, and he seems to be loving the additional limelight afforded by this solo venture, offering an anecdote about Give Me A Kiss being a “paedophile's dream” due to the infantile voice of Gossling on the record, before retracting the off-colour comments after the song is completed.
He delves into the Wagons catalogue to pad out the set – not that excellent tracks such as Love Me Like I Love You, I Blew It and Goodtown are anything less than welcome – before The Nymphs rejoin the fray and offer up a sultry cover of Wanda Jackson's Funnel Of Love. The epic tale of pestilence, Unwelcome Company, is up next, before the ominous A Hangman's Work Is Never Done finds Wagons mock hanging himself with the mic chord at the song's conclusion. A solo version of Marylou 2 leads into the coup de grace, a duet with Jane Nymph on the classic Islands In The Stream. Wagons ends up standing on a table in the middle of the room in a perfectly fitting conclusion to an excellent and fun night of melodrama and rock'n'roll.
