Tonight’s bill finds three remarkably similar up and coming acts from Melbourne strutting their stuff. The crowd they pull is comprised mainly of friends and family all of whom are keen to have a chin wag with them over a glass of wine as much as they keen to play their songs.
I, A Man’s Dan Moss goes it solo strumming up tunes from last year’s Gravity Wins Again to a handful of people. Stripped back to their bare bones the focus of his set as well as Mike Waters and HOWQUA’s is presenting well written songs without too much adornment. Arriving late we miss much of his set but the few people in the room are listening attentively.
At one point in his set Mike Waters acknowledges that he never dreamed he would one day be writing songs let alone performing them to willing listeners and releasing them. Simply strummed with a minimum of effects on the mix, Waters plaintively sings of trials and tribulations with rare sincerity and emotion. An inner city urban bear with a distinctive ginger beard turned troubadour, Waters’ tunes take in folk, country and indie influences but he distills it all into pop. His songs rock slowly like a lullaby and on this chilly winter’s evening they feel about as warm and reassuring as an all-embracing bear hug. Roll the dice, Gambling Man.
Deciding that the name of your act should spelled in caps is one way of getting attention or at least making sure that people always scream the name out loud every time. Ben Campain, the singer/songwriter behind HOWQUA, seems a little tentative and possibly nervous as he stares out into a very loudly chatting crowd. It’s possible he’s apprehensive as the tone of the songs he’s about to play are intimate and deserve attention. Admirably he silences the crowd with a few chords from his guitar and very strong distinctive voice.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
As HOWQUA warms up it’s easy to just close your eyes and drift away as he immerses us in his expansive vocals, which hit the eardrums with plenty of depth and grit. Despite his jovial blokey bloke countenance between songs, HOWQUA wears his heart on his sleeve as his lyrics assume a position of intimacy with listeners. The new single, Her, has HOWQUA demonstrating his versatility as he uses the opportunity to unleash a distinctive falsetto croon that seems to require a fair amount of concentration. Much like Waters, HOWQUA turns rootsy influences into pop. It’s not hard to imagine a band arranging themselves around these hook-laden tunes to produce a sound that would have Zack Braff gagging on any of these songs for soundtrack inclusion. The word isn’t quite out yet but tonight’s gig suggests HOWQUA’s star is on the rise. If he is Fishing For Gold, the dude is going to catch a whopper.
