Live Review: Out On The Weekend, Brisbane

The inaugural Brisbane incarnation of touring Americana shindig Out On The Weekend hits a snag early as (presumably) a lack of numbers forces the closure of the outdoor stage and moves everything onto one stage inside The Brightside; a bit of a shame on such a beautiful Spring day. This turnout does, however, need to be viewed in perspective of the fact that most of the bigger name acts from the southern version of this festival (namely Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Bingham and Lindi Ortega) played Brisbane shows of their own in the week or so leading up to this event instead of taking their place on this extended bill. There’s still a crowd on hand to watch this cracking line-up, and those who do attend are treated to a brilliant range of artists from the alt-country genre.

We pick up with locals Halfway cramming their eight bodies and assorted instrumentation onto the tiny stage, opening up with the sad and reflective Hard Life loving You. Right from the get-go the intricate cohesion of the players is compelling, each member bringing something to proceedings but being careful to leave room for their bandmates to do the same. The upbeat Dulcify is effortlessly catchy – one of John Busby’s strongest to date – before a barefoot Chris Dale takes the reins for the cruisy 110. The pedal steel of Noel Fitzpatrick comes to the fore on the lovely Sunlight On The Sills – the two vocalists trading lyrics to great effect – and then a big, full arrangement of Oscar takes us back in time a bit, a welcome foray. They play two more accomplished songs from their recent long-player Any Old Love – the hook-laden opener Dropout and recent single Erebus & Terror – before finishing a great set with brand new song Bloodlines, a slightly new direction for Halfway into more indie waters, but a tack that they pull off with complete panache.

Next up is fun-lovin’ Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jonny Fritz (who used to play and record under the name Jonny Corndawg for many a moon), who is joined by fiddle player Joshua Hedley and Robert Ellis on guitar for a threesome who couldn’t visually personify the Deep South any more if they tried. His music is fun and energetic ‘90s-tinged country, songs like Dog On A Chain and Goodbye Summer all seeming to be about life on the road to some degree. Even Fritz’s denim jacket is covered in patches so that it looks like he’s an itinerant traveller, a trait which brings with it a certain authenticity in country circles, but it’s all backed up musically by fun-drenched tunes such as Fever Dreams and Holy Water. The set highlight, however, is when they down instruments and Fritz unleashes a gorgeous a capella rendition of the Jimmy Cousins number Stone Cold Daddy O – his voice dripping sweetly like honey – in what is without doubt one of the most moving moments of the entire day. A great introduction to an inimitable talent, one steadfastly marching to the beat of his own drum.

Soon we meet The Delines, a new band from Portland but one featuring some familiar faces. The familiar left-handed guitar stance of Richmond Fontaine frontman Willy Vlautin is a dead giveaway (and his drummer from that band, Sean Oldham, is ensconced happily behind the drumkit), and even though Vlautin’s penned the songs for this new outfit – a wonderful batch of his trademark dusty and pensive narratives – it’s the beautiful, expressive voice of Amy Boone which brings them to life. It’s a sophisticated take on the country-soul oeuvre and works wonderfully, all smooth and meandering but moving into a near-Calexico terrain at some points when trumpet is introduced into the equation. It’s beautiful and darkly compelling, and although most of the material is (naturally) from their sole long-player Colfax Avenue, it’s brand new song The Golden State at the tail-end of the set which ultimately steals the show.

Next it’s the turn of the sublimely-talented singer-songwriter Robert Ellis to finally show his wares in Brisbane (he supported Justin Townes Earle in Australia a couple of years back, but after getting as far north as Byron Bay he had to flit off to the UK to support Richard Thompson so didn’t play a note in Queensland). Although augmented wonderfully by pedal steel player Wil Van Horn it’s still a stripped-back affair, but Ellis’ songwriting and delivery is spellbinding. He’s joined onstage by Nikki Lane for Good Intentions, and proves to be something of a musical chameleon; sometimes he’s channeling George Jones-era country whilst at other times more of a straightforward pop bent shines through. The proto-Americana of What’s In It For Me? gets the room fired up and moving, before he drops an absolutely gob-smacking version of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire, which he manages to make both reverent and rebellious at once. Another cover of Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years dominates the latter part of a strong showing, the set finishing with Fritz and Hedley returning to howl through one of the songs from the brand new Ellis/Fritz split-7”, Neurotic By Nature.

The crowd at its peak had filled out substantially, but is thinning again after a long day of music as southern belle Nikki Lane enters the fray with her four-piece band and kicks off with Good Man, proving right off the bat that they’re a tight unit. A quick discussion about the relative merits of rednecks versus bogans precedes 700,000 Rednecks, Lane’s high voice and quirky persona making it both aurally and visually fascinating. She gives a long and impassioned shout out to tour promoter BT from Love Police – as has pretty much every band on the bill today, there seems to be a lot of love amidst this massive touring party – and even though it’s all winding to a finale there’s no relenting from an intensity perspective, a trumpet adding a strong Muscle Shoals vibe to proceedings in places. The sassy You Can’t Talk To Me Like That is a highlight, and the whole event concludes with a huge bunch of musicians onstage belting out a tune in unison and showcasing even to the death the spirit and camaraderie that has proved the defining element of Out On The Weekend throughout this fascinating day of music and southern culture. Here’s hoping they do it again, and if they do that more punters are lucky enough to feel the love next time around.