Wednesday 11 May 2022 at The Gov.
Review – Geoff Jenke
“This is our third attempt to get here” said Ed at the beginning of the set and he was grateful we all came out. Ed Keupper was playing with Jim White on drums, Jim being the drummer for The Dirty Three. Ed of course was co-founder of 70’s punk band The Saints, architect for the uncompromising Laughing Clowns and The Aint’s, as well as having some 15+ solo albums. So, no shortage of material to play live then.
They started the set with Horse Under Water, and I have to admit, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But any doubts I may have had about the evening were soon dispelled with Ed’s wonderful guitar playing and Jim’s beautiful drumming. (I couldn’t help but compare Jim to Moe, in looks, from the Three Stooges) 16 Days, from his album Rooms of Magnificent, rolled out next, far heavier than the original.
A dedication to Chris Bailey, who recently passed away, came next. It was short and sweet and led into the Saints number Messin’ with the Kid. Memories of the 70’s came flooding back. Swing for the Crime had the sound of a freight train raising speed till the ultimate disastrous climax. Wonderful! In fact, a lot of the songs seem to have a Dirty Three sound to them, music wise. Ed and Jim quite often rode the music rather than the vocals section with long intros and endings. Miracles was a great example of this with its crescendo climax.
During the quiet parts of Pavane you could have heard a pin drop in the Gov, something you don’t hear often as there are always people talking. The Laughing Clowns song, The Crying Dance, was a popular choice with the punters and Ed Introduced Real to Me as an Adelaide debut for playing it live.
Rue the Day was long and heavy and just when you thought it had finished it had a new lease of life. The highlight of the evening. The one thing about Jim’s drumming is, he makes it look so darn easy, just waving/weaving the arms a bit, but the sound is huge. At times it even looks like he is drumming in slow motion.
Sounding like a soundtrack to a western movie, Collapse Board was just riveting. Ed told us Rolling Stone Magazine in 1980, voted this Laughing Clowns song the most Depressing song ever in Rock History and listening to it you have to agree. Often just lit with 2 solo spot lights, the two played the haunting song with passion. On a lighter night, apparently Jim reminded Ed at the soundcheck he also had the number one best bonking song ever in The Way I Made You Feel (sadly not played tonight).
The pair went out with Eternally Yours after thanking us for coming tonight. “It’s not compulsory to come to my shows, but will be soon when the communist takeover” Ed told us smiling. The song even had some young ladies up dancing.
The encore started with a song “that is the first song ever to enter the Aria Top 40 that tells a true story”, according to Ed. The song in question was Honey Steel’s Gold and with its limited vocals, suited the pair to perfection.
Lightening the sound for the final song, Jim and Ed played Everything I’ve Got Belongs to You, Jim playing with brushes and Ed leading a singalong with the audience.
Tonight, it was all about the music, not the words and everyone went home happy. Ed is always happy to renew ways to play his songs.
He is going to find it hard to top this.
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