Thursday, 29 May 2008
Harry Manx
Proserpine Cultural Centre 23 May 2008
Sometimes it takes us a while to catch up on things.
Over the years it has frequently been suggested that Hughesy is a world-class procrastinator, and acquaintances over the years have been moved to suggest that not only could I procrastinate for Australia, I could take the brand new convenient excuse downhill with the wind at my back.
A bit over seven years ago ‘Er Indoors and I were sitting in a Byron Bay pub talking to Mark from WA towards the end of the 2001 Bluesfest. We’d just returned a hire car after seeing Little Feat off at Ballina airport and were looking back over the events of an amazing couple of days.
And the best thing you’ve seen over the weekend? I asked. We’d seen the Feat, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Joe Camilleri and the Revelators, Tony Joe White, Midnight Oil and a couple of other acts. I knew he’d caught most of those as well as Joan Armatrading.
Well, came the reply, there’s this guy called Harry Manx who’s got this amazing guitar...
A quick glance at the 2001 Bluesfest schedule reveals that he was talking about the guy who went on first in the second-largest tent on the Friday afternoon.
Hardly a household name.
I filed this snippet away for future reference, intending to do something about following it up.
Over the intervening years I heard tracks turn up on the Raven and the Blues podcasts and the Radio National music shows I make a point of listening to without hearing anything that made me sit up and take notice.
Or maybe I was just trying to avoid spending money.
Then, some time before our excursion to Japan I noticed an interesting listing in the Rhythms magazine gig guide.
Harry Manx would be playing at the Proserpine Cultural Centre on May 23. I wandered down to the other end of the Little House of Concrete to inquire whether Madam might be interested in catching the show and then, in the flurry of preparations for the trip to Japan, forgot all about it.
We’d been back in the country for a fortnight when Madam appeared in my office brandishing the Weekend Australian Review section and asking if this guy who appeared in the Hotseats section of that week’s edition was the same guy who was playing Prossie.
Of course, it was.
And so it was that the late afternoon of 23 May saw the two of us heading southwards with a view to a spot of shopping, dinner at Airlie Beach and a night of live music. Preliminary research had indicated there were plenty of tickets available at the door, but I thought it best to be outside when the doors opened at 7:15.
Although I had been to the Proserpine Cultural Centre before, my previous visit was well over twenty years before, and so, as we drove down the town’s main street we went straight past the venue, which, at first glance, I’d dismissed as a church or similar structure, temporarily deserted with a few lights turned on for security purposes.
However, once we’d accomplished a U-turn and spotted the Tonight: Harry Manx sign outside, there we were.
Entering the building some forty minutes before scheduled starting time, we found a lobby populated by three theatre employees, a couple at the merchandise table and a solitary paying punter. Over the next twenty minutes or so a few more paying customers filtered in before we decided to venture into the auditorium and select our seats, deciding that the front row was, without significant competition, the place to be.
By the time the show started, the crowd had grown to the point where the venue may have been one-third full. From what I could gather from nearby conversations it was obvious there hadn’t been a great deal of publicity about the show.
Which was a pity, because from the time that Mr Manx hit the stage it was obvious we had a class act on stage. From the opening number, featuring the mohan veena, with frequent changes of instrument, we were treated to a distinctive Indian-inflected take on the blues with plenty of extremely tasty slide playing from a master player.
Given my lack of familiarity with Harry’s repertoire I can’t provide a set-list, but highlights included the mohan veena tracks that opened both halves, Long Black Veil, Good Time Charley’s Got The Blues, Working on the Railroad, the Muddy Waters track I Can’t Be Satisfied and a version of Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile featuring banjo and thumb piano accompaniment from percussionist Yeshe, who provided subtle brushstroke punctuation throughout the show.
After the show we hung around to buy a couple of CDs and have them signed before the forty-five minute drive to Bowen.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at these things) I hadn’t been to the bank before we left, so I had to limit myself to Dog My Cat and West Eats Meet rather than indulging myself with a copy of everything on offer.
Having given both disks a couple of spins over the past week. I’m more than satisfied and I’ll be checking out the on-line options when the on-line purchases credit card has recovered from the most recent hit.
Over the past couple of years I’ve been lucky enough to catch a number of great guitarists in concert - Jeff Lang and Bob Brozman here in Bowen, Richard Thompson, Eric Clapton and Derek Trucks in Brisbane and now Harry Manx in Proserpine.
No kidding, the guy’s in the same league, at least as far as I’m concerned.
Wandering into the lobby during the mid-show intermission, I ran across Dingo Beach Steve, who was somewhat surprised to see someone from Bowen in the area since the show was a well-kept secret even in Proserpine.
Standing in the lobby before the show I’d heard the guy who was looking after the forty-six date tour explain that, really, he would have preferred to have been playing Townsville on the Friday or Saturday night after a show in Mackay on the Wednesday, but that it just hadn’t worked out, so it was off to Cairns on Saturday before heading back to Townsville on Sunday.
So what’ll he do if the same situation arises in the future?
Somehow I have a nasty feeling that Proserpine won’t be on the tour itinerary.
