Live Review: The Darling Downs, Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats, Fraser A Gorman

With only his guitar and harmonica to keep him company, Fraser A Gorman stands a lonely figure on the Toff stage early on Saturday evening. A few onlookers stand on the outskirts like awkward preteens at a school dance. Non-deterred, Gorman rewards the early arrivals with his richly sung folk and hilarious anecdotes of his childhood passion for war.

Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats are next with a sure claim to 'the lankiest band in Melbourne' title. Although the microphone stand is extended upright, the appropriately titled frontman still has to stoop to bring out his contradictorily low timbre. The band should have the room tapping their heels as they run through the rollicking country blues numbers Oil City One Step and Moses, but the crowd appear to be on the older side of 50 and satisfied with this rare opportunity to simply watch without the need to strain their necks.

Necks return to the regular gig-craned position when the curtains open for headliners The Darling Downs. After a six-year hiatus, tonight marks the launch of In The Days When The World Was Wide, the third collaborative album by Kim Salmon (The Beasts Of Bourbon, The Scientists, etc) and Ron Peno (Died Pretty). Though they waste little time telling us so, or on much banter at all, the duo seem happy to be back. Peno has an affectionate grin plastered across his face as his beautifully smooth howl complements Salmon's evocatively astute guitar and banjo.

Peno performs as if in a pantomime, strutting and swirling around the stage, and punctuating his phrases with dramatic open arms. Salmon promotes the band's souvenir ties by mustering the biggest Windsor knot we have ever seen. He plays the more serious half of the duo, but returns Peno's cheek-stroking serenades with batting eyelids. The clear fondness between the two accentuates the music's intimacy, particularly in songs Forever Night and Down Desire. Bassist Jeff Hooker and drummer Michael Stranges join the duo for much of the set, but they are careful to never upset the powerful simplicity that categorises the distinctive Darling Downs sound. In this way, they create an impressive mix of upbeat melancholy in highlights Wish You Were Her and Between The Forest And The Trees. After a jolting Light Of The World, the curtain closes and the DJ music abruptly stifles the calls of, “Encore!”

Typical to The Darling Downs' style, they don't add any more than necessary.