Live Review: St Paul & The Broken Bones

Brisbane’s most entertaining ex-airplane hangar is usually full with a variety of music lovers and craft beer connoisseurs but, tonight, The Triffid is instead comfortably packed with silver-haired foxes and twentysomethings in suits eagerly awaiting Alabama funky soul juggernauts St Paul & The Broken Bones’ first-ever Brisbane show.

Even though it's a Bluesfest sideshow for the eight-piece, their charmingly dapper suits and frontman Paul Janeway's theatrical entrance instantly quell concerns that this would be a mere dress rehearsal for their festival appearance.

Flow With It (You Got Me Feeling Like) kicks off the set with an infectious blend of funk grooves, rock flair and subtle horn embellishments. The combination of strategic lighting and Janeway’s diamante black cloak make the roly-poly crooner look like a religious figure that’s descended from the heavens just for his faithful Brisbane followers. Gripping a gold microphone and stand, he unleashes a simply astonishing soul-drenched vocal run (the first of several during the set), before flinging off his cloak to reveal the brightest red suit ever worn in The Triffid.

It doesn’t take long for Janeway to bust some dance moves, including ‘Rock The Baby’, an abstract take on the Running Man, and plenty of tasteful wiggling. It’s important to point out, however, that all these moves are taking place while he reaches and holds the most incredible falsettos you’ve ever heard in a live setting.

Like A Mighty River has the old-timers grooving like it’s 1959, while guitarist Browan Lollar caps off the band’s masterclass in feelgood soul with a soaring solo. Baritone saxophonist Chad Fisher then entrances all in attendance with a magical flute prelude for I’ll Be Your Woman, before again leading the band with a delicate solo between Janeway’s passionate odes to an empowering lover.

In a set that features several motifs and short covers, including nods to Daft Punk’s Robot Rock and Radiohead’s The National Anthem, the pièce de résistance comes after the band takes a rare breather between songs. Addressing and thanking the audience for being here, Janeway introduces their cover of Tame Impala’s Eventually as a tribute to their current tour Down Under.

Now, having experienced Tame Impala’s fantastic set at Brisbane’s recent Laneway Festival, this writer doesn’t make the next comment lightly, but St Paul’s Eventually makes the psych-rock original sound like a boring copy. Delicate horn harmonies replace synthesisers as Janeway tests the limits of his extensive vocal range while pouring his heart out with exasperation and passion rarely seen from contemporary artists.

From call-and-response brass solos and warbling Hammond organ shrieks to charming Alabama banter and a frontman who could easily match Adele while bounding across the stage with interpretive jazz moves, St Paul & The Broken Bones are simply an unmissable live act.