Project Description

WINSTON SURFSHIRT

@ The Cambridge Hotel

01/06/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Jess Moog

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Well, it’s officially Winter my friends, which usually means my skin gets a little whiter, my legs get a little hairier, and my weekends get a lot lamer. So who would’ve thought that I’d spend my first day of hibernation out seeing a band, especially one as unbelievably groovy as Winston Surfshirt.

The talented Sydneysider has just kicked of his national Baked Goods Tour, with his sold out Newy show sitting second on the bill. Winston’s magic mellow tunes have earned him a significant Aussie following, and after experiencing his set at Festival Of The Sun last year, I can definitely see why. I was keen as hell to see him perform in a more intimate setting, and boy, was I right to be.

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The Cambo’s main room was already pulsating with drunk bodies before our main man blessed the stage. I was (stupidly) under the impression it would be a relaxing sort of affair, but as I stood in line outside the venue, I realised how naïve I truly was. Fuckbois here, cheek-chewing chicks there, pretty much an interesting assortment of Triple-J inspired individuals everywhere! Usually I’d fit in rather well to such a dirty crowd, but of course my silly Winter-lame self decided to take on the challenge of Dry June (yeah look I KNOW Dry July is a thing, but I’m just cool and ahead of the curve ok?).

Anyway, I’m in the venue with a pack of wild animals, and would you even believe it, but on pops some type of funky, jungle tune. As expected, the hippo’punter’mases go crazy, and on runs Winston Surfshirt. He opened up with ‘For The Record’, a nice cruisy tune that got the big audience cheering. I was standing up the back so it took me a while to realise there were eight people on stage. EIGHT?! And all of them were boasting different instruments. We had a guitarist, a bassist, a guy banging a drum pad, a saxophonist, a trombonist, a keyboardist, a trumpeter, and good old Winston. So many musos on such a little stage, but somehow it worked! I was also really digging Winston’s 70’s uni professor vibe, and the fact that he was skulling Sambuca (my ultimate fave drink) between songs. Kind of a smack in the face considering I can’t bloody drink it for another month, but I’m glad he was having enough for the both of us.

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More fab songs flowed our way, including ‘The Moments’, ‘Easily Bruisily’ and an absolutely killer rendition of Christina Aguilera’s ‘Genie In A Bottle’. Winston’s voice really shone through in the Christina cover, demonstrating his beautiful high-pitch tone. Winston’s music is pretty unique; a sort of hip hop-infused lounge, funk, electro hybrid. To be honest, I found it kind of hard to distinguish between his tunes during the set because they all sound so similar, however the skills that each muso brought to the table was fricken incredible. The brass instruments were always perfect, as was the boppy bloke on the drum pad. My favourite person, however, was the bassist, who was not only rocking a giant head of hair, but was also wielding around an impressive six-string bass! His funky bass lines pumped through every tune, and definitely had my sober ass shaking to and fro. The lighting was pretty standard; fun and colourful. There were definitely times when it felt like the blue globes were disintegrating my goddamn retinas, but all in all it added to the show well.

A few more terrific tracks hit our ears, like ‘Ali D’, ‘Same Same’, and a brand new tune that’s set for release in a week or so. Winston also blessed the crowd with another wonderful cover: ‘This Is How We Do It’ by Montell Jordan. Again, it was executed sooooo bloody well, with the entire eight-piece band swaying in unison. The floor was going absolutely bonkers, as was the band’s enthusiastic sound guy. Alas! I wasn’t the only loner up the back who was having a joyous time! I noticed that Winston didn’t really talk to the crowd much, which is sometimes pretty vital in maintaining a relationship with the room. But he definitely redeemed himself when he suddenly ran around the back of the audience and jumped on a random show-goer’s shoulders, singing ‘take me to the front!’ as his band jammed out in the background. Winston must’ve picked someone with strong-ass quads, because whoever it was took him safely back to the stage with very minimal effort. Top job mate!

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Winston and his band eventually left the stage for a brief moment, stirring quite a commotion amongst the worried drunkards. However it wasn’t long before they all waltzed back out to play us the last two tunes on the list. The night concluded with HUGE track ‘Be About You’, which was met with a large, slurred singalong and an overwhelmingly loud cheer. Winston popped his sweat towel over his head in defeat, and wished us all goodnight as he took himself off the stage for the last time.

An extremely groovy night for an extremely sober gal! Cheers Winston!

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Check out Wendy Robinson’s full gallery from his Sydney show here!

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