ROSCOE JAMES IRWIN @ The Workers Club – September 22nd 2013

After only making the final song of Roscoe James Irwin ‘s support set at one of  Vance Joy ‘s sold out gigs at The   Corner Hotel a few weeks ago, I was itching to see this long-haired multi-instrumental wonder again. The launch of his new EP,  Wasted, down at The Workers Club last Sunday, seemed like the perfect opportunity.

This particular Sunday was the sunniest day Melbourne had seen for a while, and probably why you could count the crowd in The Workers bandroom on your own two hands. Once Al Parkinson hit the stage, it was definitely an intimate affair. Opening her set with an acapella number before adopting her ukelele for bluesy ‘ Queen Naive ,’ and the more upbeat ‘ Oh O! .’ Fitting in with the intimate vibe of the afternoon, she unplugged her ukelele and played ’ Like This ‘ on the floor amongst the sparse crowd. Working through what some artists might deal with awkwardly, Al freely breaks down the barrier between herself and her audience, making the whole affair one to remember for better not worse.

Ben Wright Smith and his band were up next, and although I had my doubts at first, this band grew on me fast. Each of their songs had such a strong individual presence, character and quirky element. Whether it be the addition of keys, an interesting effect pedal, sudden silence in the middle of a phrase, or exhilarating harmonica, there was always something new and unexpected livening the set. One consistent feature was Ben’s vocals, and their similarity between Dick Diver ‘s laid back delivery that plays with the parameters of being in tune and terribly off key.

Come 4pm the room was full and a solo Roscoe James Irwin took to the stage. He sat on a low wooden Workers Club chair, flanked by two more chairs, one holding an array of small instruments, the other a looping machine. In front of him lay a shiny black NORD keyboard; just another instrument to add more intriguing sounds to his pallete. He delivers his songs unashamedly and note-perfect.

Once he begins a song, he seems to envelop himself in meditation, internalising the patterns and ordering, sounding out each note that went through his looping process. Visually it translated into jerking hand movements, which touched at his jacket and hair or just twisted and clicked in thin air to the beat of the song.

When his band joined after his first few songs, he’d surrounded himself even further by a very talented bunch of Melbourne musicians, such as guitarist  Ben Edgar , and drummer  Daniel Farrugia . Working as a tight unit, despite Ferrugia never having played theses songs before, they were perfectly percussively accompanied, a testament to his improvisational mastery. The band followed Roscoe’s cues and music making process as if he was the conductor in the the middle of the round.

They played through the four tracks of the EP, back to back, and bookended the set with extra new material; a few older songs, or songs written by band members. Title track, ‘ Wasted ‘ was a little more low key live than the bold sound on the recording, while ‘ One Eye Open ‘ was just as thrilling with its irresistible melody.

Other material in the set featured the instrumental talents of the band as well. The beautiful and oft neglected bass clarinet was a standout in the peaceful creation ‘ Angels In New York .’ They closed the set with the lengthy but poignant ‘ Fortunate One ‘ featuring his favourite instrument of the set, an African  .

Roscoe James Irwin is clearly one of Australia’s most talented multi-instrumentalists, and this personal project carries just as much musical punch as any of his other musical endeavours. Usually the release of an EP pre-empts the release of another EP or album, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that’s high on Roscoe’s to do list after this performance.

WORDS BY Leah Phillips

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