Genevieve Maynard and The Tallboys - The Vanguard, 8 October, 2009

On a cold and blustery Sydney spring night it was a relief to enter the cosy Vanguard and sit down with a glass of red wine. One half of Triple J Unearthed winners FisherKing took to the stage and played some acoustic pop/blues and gentle slide guitar to a bunch of ravenous punters who were busily tucking into their pork belly and pastas. Following on from FisherKing was Andrew Collis, who won approval by opening with a Bob Dylan cover. He played a short and bluesy set; Collis' voice reminds us of Mark Knopfler, and his original tunes impressed.

Plates were cleared and glasses were filled, and it was time for the highly anticipated Genevieve Maynard and her new-look six-piece band The Tallboys to take to the stage. Tonight they were launching their album The Hollow Way. It has been a long time between drinks for Maynard, and she explained that the album was four years in the making. And it was indeed worth the wait. Opening with the atmospherically building 'The Sun, The Sand, The Sea' and launching straight into the melancholic 'Green Beads', the band looked comfortable and together - their organic sounds filling the Vanguard were simply a delight.

On stage, Maynard was tiny but commandeering and the respect among the band members was obvious. Between songs the relaxed musician exchanged witty banter with her audience. Maynard, whose immense strength is her vocals, wavered between fragile delicacies ('Earthbound', 'Take Me Home') and hitting the powerful big notes where necessary ('Sunburnt Boys', 'Ripped'). A couple of her older tracks were also played including the stellar 'Johnny Lee', but everything came together for Maynard and her Tallboys when the immediately nostalgic and alt-country-esque 'Long Gone' was played; it is clearly an album standout, and live it made a positive impact with the punters.

It all seemed over too quickly, but suddenly an encore has been called for ('Wolfboy'). Then the birthday girl Maynard was presented with a cake; but she gave the greatest gift to us when she was joined onstage by Bernie Hayes for a heart-soaring rendition of Gillian Welch's 'Everything Is Free'. We stepped out into the cold night with our cockles warmed and our hearts happy.

Fiona Laughton
9 Oct 2009

Gig info

More reviews