For the blessed few, the artistry of Jeff Lang is not a mystery. You can be assured that his gig at Lizotte’s on Sunday night was another masterful performance. For the uninitiated, to not know Jeff Lang is to have a yawning hole in your musical soul.
Jeff Lang has been around for a while. He is a great songwriter, an expressive vocalist and gifted guitarist. Yet while other similar artists seem to make the ripples in the mainstream world, Jeff seems to move just below the surface; one of Australia’s well known musical secrets. An apt comparison would be Richard Thompson in terms of acclaim, skills and recognition.
This was the third time to have witnessed Jeff on the Central Coast, the second time at Lizotte’s and the first time at Kincumber Lizotte’s (there was one at Ettalong until they tore the RSL down). A lovely, intimate venue. We were seated directly to the left of the stage.
Jeff opened (standing up) with the foreboding Ravenswood, a slow moody piece of slide guitar. A lot of Jeff’s material does tend toward darker themes (in contrast to Jeff himself who is quite a friendly and funny chap). But the weight of the material doesn’t exhaust the audience. Lang is a master storyteller who draws the audience in and is quite capable of offsetting the darker hues with the uplifting love song London or the bouncy dreams of Slip Away.
A trio of songs in the middle of the set, London, Till They Cut Me Down and one that I couldn’t place, Jeff brilliantly explored the themes of love, revenge and remorse. Themes very obvious in the country, blues and folk influences that inform Jeff’s music. But don’t be expecting to hear warmed over Robert Johnson riffs or clichéd folky guitar moves. Contrary to popular belief, the acoustic guitar is not a genteel art. Lang made his guitars howl and roar through sending the acoustic signal through an array of stomp boxes and adeptly blending the resulting sounds. A delicate whisper of slide would suddenly turn into a scream.
It seems this jaunt around Oz is over for now. Which is a shame as he is one of the best live performers in Australia today. SO next time you see his name in the local listings, do yourself a favour and grab some tickets. For the uninitiated Prepare Me Well is a great place to start. A recent compilation of various songs over the past decade it also includes a DVD of interviews and performances. If you have some time at lunch today, wander to the local CD store and pick up a copy.
And as a teaser, some video The Beloved took of Jeff singing ye old folk tune The House Carpenter.
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Yep..Jeff Lang live is always a treat and as for Richard Thompson his new album ‘Sweet Warrior’ is released today…containing the only decent tune about the Iraq War I’ve yet to hear ‘Dad’s gonna kill me’…as Molly would say “Do yourself a favour”.
Funny you should mention ‘Sweet Warrior’ as a lunch time excursion ended up with me buying a copy.
I caught Jeff Lang and Bob Brozman at The Corner a few years ago, and together they were excellent. I’ve seen Jeff around the traps quite a few times and yes, he’s a gem.
Fans should check out his collaboration with the late Chris Whitley – one of his major inspirations.
Shaun,
really enjoyed the review you did of Ry Cooder’s “Chavez Ravine” some time back and value your opinions on music and culture, but with due respect, Jeff Lang is not in Richard Thompson’s league as a songwriter/guitarist. Maybe one day, but Mr. Lang has still got a lot of living to do before getting close to the master’s broad oeuvre and virtuosity. Bruce Elder of the SMH once fravourably compared Jeff Lang to Django Reinhart and Jimi Hendrix. Jeff featured it prominently in his newspaper gig guides. Fair dinkum mate, I squirmed. imho Jeff’s very good but not yet great, in the manner that Jimi and Django were, and Richard is.
Was given Thompson’s “Sweet Warrior” CD last week for possible air-play on my weekly “Blues and Roots Show” on Radio Auntie. “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” is a corker of an anti-war song and “Mr. Stupid” I like a lot because of it’s Lou Reed style of lyrical viciousness. Looking forward to a laid back listen to the remainder of the album this week-end.
You’re right on the money re R.T., Mike.
“Out in the desert there’s a soldier lying dead
Vultures picking the eyes out of his head
Another day that could have been me there instead
Nobody loves me here…”
From Richard Thompson’s “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” from his new CD, Sweet Warrior.
Thing about opinions is that everyone has one. Unfortunately that of ‘enemy combatant’ as displayed here has the unfortunate ring of the good old Aussie cultural cringe. I am a fan of Richard Thompson and am always keen to pick up new recordings he puts out, but I actually prefer Jeff Lang’s guitar playing to RT’s overall, as for me it has far more range and variety, and well, it just gets to me more. Lang’s career is not as long as Thompson’s so I’d have to agree that he couldn’t be said to have the sheer breadth of quality material that Thompson can boast, but few can. That said I disagree about the standard of Sweet Warrior, particularly with regard to ‘Mr Stupid’ which is a bit ‘dad rock’ to me, and was a bit of a cringe in my opinion. But that’s just it isn’t it? We all have opinions which may differ. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention how much more I prefer Lang’s singing voice to Thompson’s.
I agree that Jeff hasn’t made a statement on the guitar that could put him up there with Hendrix and Django, but (again in my opinion), neither has Richard Thompson if you wanna get right down to it. Not that either Lang or Thompson don’t reach magical heights with their playing regularly, but rather they haven’t broadened the palette of the instrument to a previously unimagined degree like Jimi and Django did is all. But hey, you can’t blame someone for using a good quote. I’ve met Jeff a couple of times and he is a very down to earth fellow. I’d be surprised if he himself would put his playing up there with the above mentioned.
I just think that for some people a local player cannot be in the same league as someone from overseas for no reason other than that. Sad really.
Thanks for the review Shaun. It put my feelings about seeing Jeff live into words quite well!
Enemy Combatant, don’t mention the anti-Dylan. You may summon forces beyond our control! I believe I can tune into you show via the web and shall try!
I’m just as big fan of Thommo as I am of Jeff and I’ll say that Lang could hold his own with Thompson. Not that it would be a competition. Both are great acoustic guitarists/singers/songwriters but with different approaches. You can prefer one over the other but a qualitative approach would be futile.
The best rule of thumb is to see Thommo whenever he graces our shores, Jeff when he is on tour and buy whatever CD/DVDs they release in between (and I admit to seeking out Thommo bootlegs on a regular basis). You can’t go wrong.
Thommo apparently is also close to releasing Volume 1 of the long awaited transcriptions of his songs. My fingers are trembling in anticipation.
And glad you enjoyed the review Chris.
Good post, Shaun.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m curious as to whether he’s been offered contracts with larger companies or not. Anyone know? Maybe he has the public profile he wants …
I agree with you all – except Enemy Combatant – Jeff is a living treasure. That he hasn’t nudged the mainstream to the same degree that frankly far less gifted contemporaries have, is a constant source of frustration for his many fans.
Anyway, all I can really add to these blogs is that people who don’t know about Jeff or aren’t convinced (eg Enemy Combatant) should check him out live, ASAP.I’m a musician who obsessively seeks out live gigs almost every night of the week, both here and during extensive overseas travel, and Jeff is the best live performance I’ve ever witnessed, bar none. Including Mr Thompson.
P.S. Jeff’s also a GREAT bloke. Chat to him after a gig and find out for yourself.
Over and out!