Andy Shauf at The Factory Theatre [Folk Rock]
Event Page: Official | Archive
Date/Time: Wed 2022-06-08 19:30
Venue: Factory Theatre, Marrickville NSW 2204
Links: Spotify | Bandcamp | Setlist
Andy Shauf exudes a certain aura of calm, serenity, aloofness, and deep wisdom that results in happy, sad, and hard hitting music all at the same time. Shauf was a very pleasantly surprising find for me and as I was browsing for upcoming concerts from Dominic Breen.
The night started at The Factory Theatre on a cold, dry, fresh Wednesday. The venue inside was large, open, and the concertgoers could get quite intimate with the artists in the front row. The theatre had a nice vintage art-deco theme that matched with the warm, comforting tunes played around us.
Dominic Breen was accompanied by his bandmate Tim Fitz in a stripped back show serenading his audience with bitter and sweet tales about life, love, growth, and loss. I continue to be amazed at Breen's ability to express with so much emotion and vulnerability whilst providing a shimmer of hope in his smile and demeanour. I got to hear some new and old songs and the iconic James Street Tonight. Breen made us laugh by mentioning how stoked he was to support someone with a different accent.
Babitha had been on my list of other Aussie alt country bands to see and this was such a great introduction. Whilst this was also stripped down accompanied by another band member (guitar), one thing that was apparent was how much they both took pride in their craft. The guitars and vocals were absolutely spot on. Babitha made it look so effortless as she sang beautiful and complex ballads.
Andy Shauf and his band played next. By this time, the entire venue was full. I pictured myself surrounded by gentle souls all yearning for the feelings Shauf will be able to evoke. What stood out for me was the aloofness of Shauf as he entered the stage. As he entered the stage, the audience cheered and asked how he was doing. Andy felt shy and almost embarrassed answering a short "doing well". The way he delivered this was enough to make the entire audience laugh. The songs that followed had a beautiful warm tone and all band members got their chance to shine. The drum and guitar rhythm solo was phenomenal and not something I was expecting at all. It was so endearing hearing everyone sing along around me.