There is no better way to break into the New Year than with a live music performance. Everyone at the Falls Festival and Woodford Folk Festival shouldn’t have to steal all the fun - Brisbanites and close neighbours had fun too.
Almost a year since his last visit, Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers have returned to Australia for a few shows in Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, Woodford (wonder why there, of all places?) and last night, Brisbane.
But before he and his folky bunch of smokers made an appearance, Joe Oppenheimer took to the stage as support. He’s an unusual performer who can contend with Caplan’s quiet songs and loud feet thumpers. But his beard in no way contends with Ben Caplan’s luscious locks and wiry curls.
I have squeezed into Black Bear Lodge with a packed crowd of other music appreciators many times, but I am a first timer at Ben Caplan’s show. It seems to be the perfect time to embrace his charismatic and raspy vocals in a live setting. While he is still riding on the high of his first album, In The Time of Great Remembering, he hasn’t lost any of the intensity of his bluesy voice. Now that it’s the new year it feels so long ago that his debut album was released back in late 2011.
Watching the stage lights shine through his tawny beard seemed almost spiritual. His vocals certainly create a soulful environment. This man truly puts his heart into his songs. You would think he has no heart left by the end of a set, but he continues to reverberate Brisbane’s cramped but cute little venue with his own strange form of musical loving.
If you missed out on Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers little stop-in at Brisbane they are heading down to Melbourne and Sydney in the coming week. Then there will be a break before their next shows coming up in May. Otherwise, you can listen to their album and EP at home to tide you over. You don’t have to have a glass of bourbon while you listen to his tunes. But it definitely helps with the blues vibes.
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Image by Courtney Lee Yip.
