Live Review: Milk! Records Residency

After walking down the long path bordered by commemorative memorials and Australian flags flown at peak, we enter Coburg RSL. The venue soundsystem is tuned into PBS, we note delightedly, and it's $6 pints (because Wet Yer Whistle Wednesdays) until 7pm - another result. And friendly staff/locals are on hand to recommend their favourite brews (it seems appropriate to order a Pentridge Pale Ale from the local Coburg Brewing Co).

Tonight is the second week of Milk! Records' three Wednesdays in July residency in this absolute ripper of a venue. The veggie soup kitchen, manned by musicians from the Milk! Records roster, opens at 7pm and tonight there's a choice of pumpkin or spicy bean. The soup is top-notch and a lovely member of staff works the tables flogging Father's Day raffle tickets while also plugging one of her favourite live acts Jack Gatto (an Australian Elvis tribute artist).

Each week of Milk! Records' residency features a "mystery line-up" and it's testament to this local label's reputation that all shows sold out at the pre-sale stage (entry price is just $10). The band room is littered with quirky decorations including a pair of blinds behind the stage that feature silhouetted cowboys bookending a framed display of playing cards. And the first act of this evening's "mystery line-up" is the incomparable Jen Cloher! "How good is the RSL on a Wednesday night?" Cloher asks, before admitting she's "stoked". "Surprise, here I am!" she chuckles. Cloher introduces Forgot Myself, saying it goes out one of her mates. And this powerful first single from her upcoming self-titled set sees Cloher expertly channelling Patti Smith (especially in this live version). Jen Sholakis is a beast behind the kit and Cloher's band sound absolutely mint. I mean, come on! It's rounded out by bassist Bones Sloane and guitarist Courtney Barnett, ferchrissakes!

Cloher holds up (and geeks out about) her beautiful cream guitar, which she tells us Mia Dyson's dad made for her in Torquay. After Cloher announces she's gonna remove her jacket, Barnett hilariously strikes up Hendrix's Foxy Lady riff. We feel all warm and fuzzy as if we've been welcomed into a family gathering. Cloher represents fellow local label Poison City Records by wearing a Cable Ties T-shirt. We then score a "world premiere" of another absolutely killer track; already frothing for Cloher's new album based on what we've heard to date, our anticipation is now truly next-level. "Just a few intense jams on a Wednesday night," Cloher jokes.

"Any Go-Betweens fans in the house?" Cloher inquires before playing Love Goes On from 16 Lovers Lane, which was released almost 30 years ago. Barnett's guitar parts truly shimmer during this track. While taking Tim Rogers' alternate vocal lines during Cloher's duet with the You Am I legend, Stone Age Brain, Barnett's contributions are both husky and fierce.

After this set, punters wander around with big, dumb grins on their faces and head directly to the merch table to spend some coin. Next up is Courtney Barnett solo and her humorous/topical lyrics rise to the surface when presented in this bare-bones style. Many audience members mouth Dead Fox's lyrics and then we score a song Barnett tells us she's never performed live before. Barnett says she heard someone mentioning a particular song title before and then performs said track: Elevator Operator. Barnett's trademark guitar tone sounds like multiple guitars. She's an urban poet and the detail in Barnett's lyrics calls to mind our very own lyrical wizard, Paul Kelly. Barnett asks for requests and then vetoes a couple. We suddenly notice the radio is still playing through the venue speakers, but while Barnett plays (lucky it's PBS!) we only have ears for her. Someone switches off the radio and Barnett aptly closes with her ode to a neighbouring suburb, Depreston. We all realise how much we've missed seeing Barnett perform live.

There are absolutely no dickheads present and punters of all ages (including a young tacker who crawls through the crowd on all fours toward the front during this evening's headline act East Brunswick All Girls Choir). Sholakis sits behind her kit for the second time tonight and is exceptional once more. East Brunswick All Girls Choir deal squalls of feedback and intensity before a captive audience. Marcus Hobbs spits out lyrics with vitriol, but is equally capable of singing with dejected tenderness during the band's slower numbers and employs incredible sustained notes. Instrumentation rumbles up through the floor, roughly massaging our organs.

"Thanks to Courtney for supporting, you'll get there one day," Hobbs jests. "I have faith in you." The Milk! Records posse watch on proudly from a stage-left stairwell and Barnett plays air drums, totally enthralled. East Brunswick All Girls Choir pump out a barrage of noise, which serves as a reminder that Milk! Records are all about quality rather than representing a specific sound.

As we wander towards the exit we clap eyes on a noticeboard where printouts of the Coburg RSL Functions And Volunteer Roster have been pinned and upon which various names have been scrawled in biro. There's also a space for vollies supplying food to specify "the dish you can make". 

We'll definitely be back next week. Be warned, though, Coburg RSL is a cash only venue (or "Dark Ages" as the venue acknowledges on various signs around the bar).