For Perth border hopper Bob Evans, playing a string of shows in quick succession is second nature. The Jebadiah front man isn’t quite a house hold name, but with most of his tours being country wide this definitely isn’t his first time around the Canberra circuit.
What set this gig apart was the low key vibe with which Evans took to the stage- summed up by the title of the tour and recent album Familiar Strangers. Dropping the usual four man band for a pair of guitars and a solitary mic stand, the air called for an intimate atmosphere, and Zierholz provided.
Evans was supported by a band that’s been making some waves in their own right, but TigerTown was not the same outfit I had seen on tour before. The group followed suit with Evans and took to the stage as a duo rather than the usual five-man-set. The husband and wife pair both brandished guitars and after a rocky start of Hello Wollongong the audience were forgiving as their matching vocals launched into new song wandering eyes.
When the main act took the stage bottle of wine in hand and urged the audience to come closer it became the cosy affair Evans wanted. Lifting into the lyrics When I was young everything came so easy– a few resounding nods were seen by the women settling into a bottle of wine off to the side of the stage eclipsed by a young couple twirling each other next to them
Evans tried his hand at everything tonight, from Lilly Allen renditions to Bossanova jazz, aiming for that ‘Downtown Manhattan Café atmosphere’. Playing an array of tunes from the Suburban Songbook album Evans had the crowd singing along or (as in my case) clicking to the lesser known tracks. When the time came and the lights dimmed and Evans left the stage I thought it was all over, that was until a tiny woman in the front row took to the stage herself and demanded another song! Evans obliged and gave a heart-warming delivery of the song while standing within the crowd himself.
This summed up the night for me and showed that while Bob Evans may not be a household name, his country wide tours show that he is in demand for good reason.
