Something for Kate play
Elsewhere for 8 Minutes
The Gov – Saturday 20th August
By James Murphy
ARIA Award Topping Something for Kate’s three decade run of seven albums began not with a murmur, but on Sony BMG’s Murmur, with their debut Elsewhere for 8 Minutes. The 1997 release, recorded in New Zealand with original bassist Julian Carroll is, as front man Paul Dempsey told The Gov crowd, the only recording that the band can play live as a three-piece. Two years later, with Dempsey’s soon-to-be partner, then wife, Stephanie Ashworth joining on the bass, keyboards and backing vocals, SFK reconstructed their sound on the modern classic, Beautiful Sharks. Just three months since their last tour, Something for Kate returned to play songs that had long slipped off the set-list and, in one instance, a song they had never played live before, as they celebrated the quarter of a century anniversary of Elsewhere for 8 minutes by playing it in full.
Early in the evening, Dempsey self-deprecatingly thanked the crowd for coming along to hear the musings penned by his 18-year-old self. As a songwriter prone to a perfectionism and a devotion to perpetual improvement that has, at times, led to writer’s block, the revisiting of his early creations may, he felt, have required such downplaying but the audience did not agree with his assessment; their singing back to him of his sung words was not echolalia, as their doing so was not meaningless. For many, it was a journey back to their youth, to a time when the band rocked as heavily as label mates Silverchair and Jebediah. In particular, Ashworth, barefooted and wearing a Joan Jett t-shirt, showcased the chops that saw Courtney Love try to head hunt her for Hole.
For those that attended The Gov, though, hoping for a smattering of later mainstream hits, maybe during the encore, they were in for disappointment, as Dempsey told a request-shouting punter that there’d be nothing post-1997. As previously mentioned, logistically, the more instrumentally intricate later releases were not reproduceable on stage as a three piece and there was ample opportunity to explore this back catalogue on their last visit. The night’s set, then, was their debut album, the earlier single, Dean Martin, and B-sides Chapel Street Etc. and their cover of Häzel’s ‘Truly’. It was a rare chance, though, to see rarities, including the first ever stage performance of Glass Timing, a track written in the studio during recording of Elsewhere.
While the headliners journeyed back to the past, support act Merpire was a vision of the future, as she warmed up the crowd with her wry and introspective odes to social anxiety from her debut, Simulation Ride, which was released mid-COVID lockdown last year. The Melbourne artist who grew up listening to Something for Kate in the back seat of the car, won over those that got to The Gov early with singles ‘Village’ and ‘Dinosaur’ and new songs ‘Street Dogs’ and ‘Leaving With You’. With her sharp lyrical observation and husky vocals, it’s possible that we will be seeing her celebrate a 25 year anniversary in a decade and a half too.
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