Project Description

JEFF MARTIN

@ Basement, Canberra

(31 August 2017) – Live Review

Reviewer – Benjamin Smith

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Jeff Martin

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To say Jeff Martin first made a name for himself as the brains behind, and frontman of, The Tea Party is, at the very least, a gross understatement. The band spawned an army of devoted followers who, when gathered en masse, form something dangerously close to a cult. Their three most successful records, Edges of Twilight, Transmission and Triptych showcased a sound as diverse and eclectic as any band of the era. They were a huge success in Australia, perhaps more so than anywhere else except their native Canada.

Now living and working primarily here in Australia, Jeff Martin has been forging a successful solo career since about 2005, alongside performing with a reformed Tea Party and brief projects with The Armada and Jeff Martin 777.

On the evening of his solo show, The Basement, Canberra’s home of all things heavy, was unusually well-populated by the ghosts of 90s past, a time where black nail polish and thick eyeliner knew no gender.

The show opens with Lepers and Crooks, a Sydney band normally five strong who perform tonight as an unplugged three piece. They crushed. The quality of their performance was un-fucking-touchable. Flawless harmonies, stellar guitar work and truly engaging showmanship from frontman and vocalist Sam Baker, despite being tied to a stool for the duration, make for a killer performance. They did a couple of heartfelt tributes, with covers of Audioslave’s Like a Stone and Prince’s Kiss. They also seem to have developed a cultish following of their own, with an entourage of young women screaming for their attention. There is a raw kind of intensity to this band and seeing them in their full glory has just become a must do.

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The Tea Party

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Martin takes the stage and promises that tonight’s performance will be all about the beauty of the acoustic guitar. He keeps his promise, displaying a phenomenal mastery of the instrument, giving special attention to a 12 string custom Maton. His particular style combines a sweet simplicity with a delicate intricacy only matched by the resonance of his voice. And what a voice; it is engulfing and all consuming.

Martin has an enviable talent for weaving in and out of classic tracks and then back to his own material. From Zeppelin to Hendrix and Jim Morrison to Prince then back again Martin seamlessly moves between his own work and the music of others he interprets uniquely. Lyrically, there is a mystery and depth to his own songs that seems at odds with his accessible persona. Musically there is something exotic about the structure of the songs, elements of the same something eastern that worked its way into his earlier work with the Tea Party.

He and his audience have an unusually close bond; there is an affinity there that goes beyond the music. At one point in the show Martin brings his wife onstage, who he and the members of Lepers and Crooks serenade along with the audience bringing an even warmer feel to what has been a show defined by its intimacy.

Martin leaves the stage and returns for one encore in which he shows off his impressive skills as a slide guitarist. Its blues with a progressive twist, the kind of thing The Tea Party might have done if they ever sat for one of those MTV Unplugged gigs so popular in their heyday. It is an evening of incredible music where the total is more than the sum of its parts. Martin is touring with The Tea Party towards the end of the year and the shows are sure to be dark and heavy and everything you’d expect. This solo show, though, is something different entirely. It’s a night with a musician who can do what he does like very few others.

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AMNPLIFY – DB