From Mess + Noise
Review of Spencer P. Jones live in the Pure Pop Courtyard

Spencer P Jones
Pure Pop Records, Melbourne
Sunday June 08, 2008.
Featuring: Spencer P Jones.

St Kilda’s Pure Pop Records has been busy transforming itself over the past year or so – it’s now more venue that record store. I can’t remember the last time I bought a CD there, but I’ve seen at least a dozen live shows in the (licensed, smoke-friendly) backyard.

Tonight Spencer Jones is up. The great survivor is playing solo, just him and a battered white Fender on the small stage, under one spotlight. He doesn’t enjoy the same reputation and respect as his old band mate Paul Kelly, which is a shame – Jones too is a unique, well-seasoned voice. He seems to know everyone in the audience and there’s an easy give and take of banter as he chats and sings his way through an hour-long set. There’s no artifice here and it never feels like anything is missing – it’s more like having someone play in your lounge room.

He wears his history lightly – when he throws a cover of the Gun Club’s ‘House On Highland Avenue’ into the mix, it’s a surprise to realise that it was more than 20 years ago that he and his fellow Johnnies helped save their Australian tour. Most of the set though, is drawn from his solo albums and the songs – ‘Clementine’s’, ‘When I Write My Book’, ‘Enmore Hotel Blues’ – translate well to the stripped-back format, which lets his dry wit shine through. ‘Execution Day’ is the only Beast of Bourbon tune to get an airing tonight, though he fails to shed any light on their recent bust-up. He closes, as ever, with ‘Thanks’, the greatest song he never wrote.

by Trevor Block

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