Jay Farrar

Jay Farrar founding member of Uncle Tupelo, splinter group Son Volt and now solo performer finally arrived on our shores to play the Corner Hotel. It was a much-anticipated performance by aficionados of what is loosely described as the alt country scene.

A packed bill of acts on the night saw an entertaining opening by Henry Wagons. He amused the crowd with his wry humour, guitar play and original songs. With his booming baritone voice and western tinged narratives he sounded at times like a weird hybrid of Marty Robbins, Kris Kristofferson and Jonathon Richman he pleased old fans and gained some new ones on the night. His excitement about the upcoming headline act was palpable to the small crowd of early arrivers.

A larger, crowd who started to jostle for position closer to the stage, greeted The Rectifiers who showcased their impending new CD release. The band is now largely comprised of keyboards and guitar, which is a departure from the earlier steel guitar sound of the band.

Two songs, "Tear Stained Eye" and "Windfall", from the Son Volt album Trace were familiar to a lot of the audience. The former having been covered on least two occasions by Australian country artists and the later evoked images of "driving across the night with an all night radio" with a Cajun feel. Both songs could have been hits and are certainly anthems for a generation.

Mark Spencer formerly of the Blood Oranges remained seated in a chair throughout the evening. Spencer provided the body to a lot of the songs with his guitar work, which sounded a lot unlike guitar because of its tonings. The dexterity of his playing was astounding and to see and hear him play was worth the price of admission alone. Spencer confided to inquiries from the audience after the show that the Blood Oranges self-titled CD release had been acquired back and it was hoped that the Blood Oranges album would be released again.

Another cover performed on the night was the Lennon/McCartney song "Tomorrow Never Knows" from the Revolver album. This song was given the psychedelic treatment by Spencer on guitar.

After two encores and hour and a half on stage the audience was happy with the show even though the songs and performance would have benefited from the interplay of the musicians and accompaniment that Farrar has surrounded himself with over the years. Solo it enabled the strength of the lyrical content and Farrar's' fragile voice to take centre stage and left us longing for a return visit in a band format in the not too distant future.