Kim ChurchillSteve Smyth strolls in through the front door of Thornbury Theatre as though he has just walked across the Nullarbor. Apart from the exquisitely waxed moustache, he is all beardy mountain man, barefoot, guitar in hand – the wandering troubadour, already exuding a magical presence.
He begins his set with Barbituate Cowboy and Barmade Blues, and already the seated crowd is transfixed. His music inspires both a reverent silence and a foot-stomping enthusiasm, sometimes all within the same song. It's the voice that does it, weaving easily from a gravelly growl to an angelic soar. His drummer drums the drumming of ten men, and halfway through Endless Nowadays departs the stage with a bottle of wine in hand that he has more than earned.
In A Place is next; “And what a place it is,” Smyth smiles, regarding the lovely surrounds of Thornbury Theatre. It's the most sublime track on his record Release, and live it is transcendent. The note his voice holds at the end of the song is worth the entire night alone. He performs the next song a cappella, and even without a mic it still fills the room. The explosive passion this man exudes is mesmerising.
“Steve Smyth is a very scary person to walk onto a stage after,” says Kim Churchill, understandably. But Churchill does it with panache. His enormous one-man-band roots sound combines astonishing percussive, fingerpicking guitar skills with harmonica melodies. He's all boofy blond surf hair and youthful charm, while his onstage banter covers topics like leaving school in Merimbula, which he only did four years ago. He opens with It's This System, and then plays a song about his decision to buy a caravan and busk for a living, joking that his high school career advisors and he didn't see eye to eye. Electric violinist Jho Dwilde joins him on stage for several songs, adding a beautiful depth to the sound. The Battle Of Mr Shibuya, a song about a conversation Churchill overheard in Japan that he couldn't understand, showcases his poignant voice, mature songwriting and his intricate fingerpicking skills. It's like he's tickling it with his left and slapping it with his rubber right hand. He does Loving Home, which with its Waltzing Matilda intro, is a wee bit cheesy but makes its point. Following this, the explosive energy of Bathed In Black is insane, making it even weirder to be sitting on a chair at a table.
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Churchill has always made clear he's a big fan of Bob Dylan, and he ends his set with an impassioned version of Subterranean Homesick Blues. He's held the crowd in the palm of his hand, and by the time they've all gone home he is driving his van to the Blue Mountains to do it all again.
