Rowland S Howard
Thursday October 29, 2009 at 08:00 PM
Audience: 18 and over
Prince BandroomAudience: 18 and over
29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
VIC, 3182, Australia.
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Event Listing (VIC)
29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
VIC, 3182, Australia.
Show on a Map.
Rowland S Howard
The glory days when The Prince Of Wales hotel in St Kilda was the mecca of Melbourne’s rock’n’roll scene are long gone. Now backpackers, yuppies and bogans fight it out for control of Fitzroy Street and what remains of its bohemian culture. Escaping the ugliness and potential violence of the street and stepping into the Prince Bandroom resembles one of those uncanny dreams where everything is changed, yet somehow remains the same. Under the unattractive veneer of its nightclub sophistication, complete with disco ball and over-priced beverages, still lurk the grimy ghosts of rock’n’roll past, patiently waiting to be called forth by Rowland S Howard’s voodoo ritual of a gig.
As the faithful slowly filter in, The Dacios do their absolute best to ignite proceedings with a thunderous set of muscular, pile-driving riffs. Combined with Linda J’s forceful stage presence and husky bellow of a voice, they cannot be denied and hold the crowd’s attention, eliciting enthusiastic rounds of applause with a set that seems way too short.
The three-piece Kes band has an uphill battle on their hands to hold the rapidly filling room’s attention. Their intricate and less linear tunes, combined with Karl Scullin’s idiosyncratic vocal style, fail to engage most people’s imagination tonight. Unfortunately, a muddy mix doesn’t help to endear them either. It’s a pity, but the band doesn’t seem to mind too much, steadfastly believing in the worth of their art.
Then it’s time for Rowland. He steps into the spotlight, rake-thin and ravaged looking, yet immaculately attired in his customary suit. He makes light of his illness by apologising in advance for any potential on-stage vomiting. “I feel a bit queasy,” he quips, before launching straight into the rollicking ‘Pop Crimes’. Behind Rowland, Mick Harvey demonstrates why he was right to abandon the sinking ship that is The Bad Seeds, relishing the opportunity to display his unique skills on the drums and play with a friend who appreciates his musical contribution.
Brian Hooper may be shaky on his legs, the legacy of an accident some years ago, but his bass playing remains inimitable in its sturdiness and repetitious groove. Most of the songs tonight are driven by Hooper’s pulse-like riffs, none more so than the band’s re-invention of Talk Talk’s ‘Life’s What You Make It’, which turns into a steam-rolling juggernaut and something of an life-affirming mantra for Howard. It’s fun watching people attempt to dance to the song’s lurching rhythm.
With JP Shilo fleshing out the sound with subtly deployed violin and guitar, Rowland is freed up to play his trademark coruscating lead lines. Having invented his own playing style and guitar sound, he revels in the sheet-lightning noise he can conjure from his instrument. Ignoring persistent feedback issues throughout his set, Rowland moves across the stage in his habitual stiff-legged stumble, approaching his amp like a matador teasing a bull.
In between songs, he responds to marriage proposals and declarations of love from the audience with a wry cackle. Clearly, the man is enjoying the appreciation coming from the packed venue, a vindication of years spent in the musical wilderness that at times saw him play solo to less than 20 people. “I’m bringing it to ya,” he smirks as requests come from the crowd, and indeed he does. He plays songs from both his solo albums, building the intensity before abruptly departing the stage after a staggering reading of ‘The Golden Age Of Bloodshed’.
The band’s farewell is premature, and as Rowland and his cohorts re-emerge from the band room, he apologies for forgetting the last song on the setlist. ‘Exit Everything’ meets with rapturous applause and it’s clear he’s putting everything into this performance. Even a bloodied lip can’t diminish Rowland’s exuberance. His request for a tissue is met with a hail of packages from the front rows, in an oddly endearing twist on the knicker throwing that used to greet Tom Jones.
Rowland ups the energy one more notch for the final encore of ‘Sleep Alone’. “This is the journey to the edge of the night,” he sings, referencing Louis Ferdinand Celine. “Shut me up, shut me down, stop me if you can. My love, I'll tell you nothing, I'm a misanthropic man.” It’s a statement of bloody-minded defiance, and he snarls the words while releasing ever more violent guitar noises. One final swing towards his squealing, tortured amplifier and then he’s gone.
by René Schaefer
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I haven’t seen Rowland since around the time that Teenage Snuff Film was released, but I think it is great for him that a lot of people went to this show. This gig was well publicised but I did wonder whether a room the size of Prince of Wales was a little ambitious, and I’m very happy to be proven wrong. I certainly recall a series of solo shows (maybe a Sunday residency for a month) at the Public Bar in North Melbourne in about 1996 which were quite sparsely attended as the reviewer mentions, definitely less than 50 people at each one so it is good to see that this show was a success.
Great review. Captures some of the feelings I had seeing him in Sydney. It pleases me immensely that Rowland is receiving this well deserved adulation.
''Potential violence''? Me & jones saw actual violence, outside the downstairs bar. For a minute there we were worried some twat was going to spill our jug.
That minor issue aside, this review tells it exactly like it was.
This reminds me. I'll have a recording of his Sydney show up tomorrow.
Or even late late late tonight.
Where???? I want this.
Here soon.
I'll link it directly somewhere on mess and noise though.
Sweet! I hope it works for me now. I was having problems a few weeks ago. I think it was me internet playing up...
Yep. Works fine. Downloading Flaming Lips gig now...looking forward to Rowland S, Howard set.
Phew. Because I didn't really want to figure out how to fix it.
Nah...it was working for other people. I knew it was me or my computer. Works fine. Got that lips set now. Awesome! I worked at that show so it will be nice to kick back and listen. Is there any way to seperate the tracks? I'm a pedantic fucker. You've got the song titles up and I want to enter all the info in my iTunes. It's come up as band and venue but I was just wondering. I'm pretty well retarded at computers.
Any audio editing programme really, shouldn't be too hard. There's just a large myriad of reasons I don't upload them as splits.
Awesome. I'll have to get our keyboard player who is also my resident I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!!!! guy to help me out....
Sounds great. I went off bootlegs for a long time after buying too many crappy sounding Metallica years ago but I'm pretty impressed with the quality of bootlegs now. They sound great.
Rowland S. Howard live at Oxford Art Factory.
Awesome! Cheers Morris...
Apparently Richard Lowenstein was behind the (five camera) filming of the Prince show.
Oh sweet....so there is a DVD in the works then?
I guess so...I just asked him, will post the response here.
Hope so. A DVD would be cool.
great gig and review.
i hope no band i ever like plays the POW again though, so i wont feel bad about never going back. firstly, its in st kilda. no pass outs until rowlands start time. $9.50 coronas. massive queues for an almost empty smoking balcony. oh, and it is in st kilda.
Rowland S. Howard should win the AMP this year (although he will surely have stiff competition from Powderfinger and Philadelphia Grand Jury).
there has been talk for quite some time now of a rowland documentary. we can only hope. i did see someone filming there the other night as well.
Rowland's producer, Lindsay Gravina, is making a documentary about Rowland. He has been doing so for years.
Great show my darling. I love RSH
Takes one to know one, whitey!
By the way, sorry for all the spelling mistakes in this review. I was rushing to get this submitted ASAP after the show and didn't proof-read it as diligently as I should have.
Cheers, Rene
I saw this gig and my recollection differs greatly. I went to see a masterful singer, songwriter and guitarist. I saw a frail , unwell man barely make it through a 60 minute set who required a lyric sheet for all his songs old and new.
Rowland's vocal delivery was almost deadpan ,I assume due to a complete lack of energy.
He staggered off stage ,completely spent. I hope he gets the liver transplant that I read that he needs coz he sure looks like he needs it.
On the way home I listened to Teenage Snuff Film -what a contrast -energy ,animation.
Oh one last thing ...''Behind Rowland, Mick Harvey demonstrates why he was right to abandon the sinking ship that is The Bad Seeds, relishing the opportunity to display his unique skills on the drums and play with a friend who appreciates his musical contribution''.
Probably right about Mick needing to leave having been supplanted by Warren ellis -but ''bad seeds a sinking ship?''...you are dreaming.
See here.
Rowland's vocal delivery was almost deadpan
But that's his default style, always has been! Also one of the reasons I love the man.
For a staunch Cave supporter you seem to ignore his constant referral to his songbook during gigs. It's not just Rowland who does it.
''I've lost the power I had to extinguish, between what to ignite and what to ......extinguish''
Rowland's style is deadpan ,agreed ,but not to the same extent . I compared ''snuff''to what we got energised versus ennervated.
I understand he is unwell ,for a variety of reasons , but the reviews i read seemed to suggest rowland was BACK , and back in the game,. He is not .It is great to see him producing music on record and in a concert but this was no tour de force.It is more of a tragedy and ,very sadly, this show struck me as an act late in the play.
The reference to Cave and the bad seeds being a sinking ship is I think probably more in need of defnece than my comments.A double album , then grinderman, a number of excellent soundtrack albums, dig lazarus dig, recruiting ed kuepper to play ,another well reviewed book ( haven't read it). This all suggests he is highly productive and his star is not on the wane . Nick Cave sometimes refers to lyrics in performance. He has many more songs, many more words and he plays for twice the time .
The criticism of him appears to be a case of a tall poppy syndrome. Perhaps he needed to stay a junkie and produce 2 records in 10 years to have cred.
both times i have seen rowland, they were some of the most engaging performances i'd seen
hear! hear!
Or, as is stated in the other thread, because people are jack of him. Mmmmmmmaybe.
Jack of Rowland or Nick?
Too many names in that sentence.
Rowland can be ''back'' if he wants, or maybe because he never left, just is. Have some respect you wanna be mapfumoneverdonenothing. Sorry for you it's hard to make a comeback from NEVER DONE NOTHING.
Yeah....what snowwhite said.
RSH is my hero. I love him.
Nick. Sozlol.
Yeah....I must say I'm more likely to put on From Her To Eternity than 'Dig!...
I find it weird that MOJO has started flipping about him this late in the game.
I'd love to hear at least one Ed Kuepper line-up album but I think Mick not being in the band anymore is the worst thing to have happen to them since Blixa left. Even worse maybe...
rowland looked better than i expected the other night. his banter was delivered as only rowland could deliver it. he seemed in good spirits and there was lots of smiling. he said it was good being loved (or similiar). big deal, he had a lyric sheet. you do realise that when you get ''old'' you can't remember things don't you??!!?? nick uses a lyric sheet for nearly all performances now. his star is not on the wane. he is mainstream now. nick the court jester i call him. i love him and rowland. always will.
Musically, the Bad Seeds have been treading water ever since Blixa left. No disrespect for James Johnston here... he was a fine guitarist in his own right but like Harvey, he was eclipsed by Warren Ellis's showboating. Anyway, enough about Mr Mustache. More about Rowland!
I too was disappointed in Blixa leaving .To my mind he kept that edgey sound Rowland produced. Mick leaving is also a shame but anyone who has seen the bad seeds in the last couple of tours will have seen now marginalised he was. I too find Warren Ellis a bit O.T.T on stage but he is a fine musician , i.e dirty 3 and we can expect more stuff and more varied stuff
Nick Cave is a family man living in Brighton UK,not drinking or drugging and reading a lot -his life is so different to his early days and it seems Rowland's current days.
As for ''wanna be mapfumoneverdonenothing''- well none of you know me so how can you say that?
Rowland is a fine musician, a fine artist - my point was that his show wasn't great, compared to what he should be doing , given his talent. It's a tragedy of the first order. If you want to abuse me for saying this and that Cave still has talent then that is your problem.
Can we? Or can we except more of the same guff, but with MO' STRINGZ?
Yeah, it's a bitch when talent and liver cancer run against each other.
I think the general vibe is that, all things considered, Rowland played well. I didn't go to this round of shows because I thought his ATP set was of lesser stature than a solo set I'd seen in Brisbane, but those that did enjoyed it, possibly, just because he was still here and able to play.
It's always the case though innit?
I hated the last one, as did most of the people I went with.
Boycotted this one, then they all come home yelling ''Best thing ever!''
And you've just spent the past 3 on a couch with a pipe and yesterdays MX crossword.
Moral: Never Miss a Rowland show, ever, cause the one you do, will be 'THE ONE'
I think that's a factor of how rarely he plays, too. It's always a wow-factor event because you can't remember the last, and can't predict the next.
Totally Fez. Sometimes it's a few years between tours up in Sydney. I try to make every show he does up this way cause they are so rare.
Ding dong every 2nd week for a while there, all good shows bar the one band one.
I love that about Melbourne you can see Rowland S. Howard or Spencer P. Jones almost every week, in fact thats exactly what I did when I was down there last and Brian Henry Hooper as well.
It was rad.
Rowland's album is better than his live show. But part of Rowland charm is his fucked-up train-wreckness. You don't get that anymore in rock n' roll, even in indie.
Everyones' a robot.
I knew Rowland was poorly, but I didnt know it was that seriously advanced until speaking to a couple of Blackeyed Susans after last night's gig. In that sense, I think that he's prepared to put in the significant amount of effort which must be required to play for 70 mins is to be admired & respected. So I'm grateful he chooses to continue sharing his talents & defintely feel driving interstate for the privilage of seeing him again is a very small price to pay....(''if the mountain wont come to Mohammed...'' as he said at ATP)
I'm really look forward to Northcote Social Club show next month.
Keep it up Rowland, we love your music.
He's supporting the Yeah Yeah Yeahs !
Ha! Thats awesome...
Apparently Nick Zinner has been a long-time fan of Rowland
Appreciate the fact that if you are close enough to the man to see him then you are one lucky dog (or bitch?).
I don't get all the Nick Cave bashing these days, i love Nick, Warren, Rowland.. its all incredible music to me.Oh yeah and the church, the best live band on the planet. I think though that losing Blixa didnt hurt the Bad Seeds at all, but Mick on the other hand... hmm, the jury's out for the moment.
they used to talk about No wave being one of their influences didn't they? maybe the lydia lunch connection
I guess Rowland and Zinner can share hair-styling tips backstage.
''...and then I tease it just so.''
''What kind of product do you use, Nick? I'm a TRESemme man myself.''
Apparently the Yeah Yeah Yeahs dedicated their set to Rowland last night, having had to cancel his support slot, but not knowing that he had only a few hours left to live.
just got 'shivers' reading that line, frankie. i think we all unconsciously knew what we were witnessing. it was an absolute privilege to be at this gig.
Good thing we weren't late then, eh, jones?
But yes, same feeling here.
Rowlands last show was quite impressive in his carcrash kinda way. Now he's gone.
First I see Lobby Lloyd, probably the biggest influence on harder trippier oz-punk rock,
then he cucks it, and then Rowland, biggest Ozzie guitar influence on the WORLD stage in
the 80s and he cucks it.
It's quite apparent that Rowland really gave Nick and the BND an 'edge' and style, he definitely
introduced a more chaotic sensibility and style to rowing-club nicities of the BND, and interestingly Nick has always had Rowland-type substitutes by his musical side throughout his
whole career - Blixa, Ellis.
Whilst musically Cave is just going through the motions and is just another global indie
superstar with properties and investments all over the world, he still carries the beacon for
Aussie alt-rock stronger than most and that is part of the problem.
It's the kids that should be solution not fucking Paul Kelly and Tim Rogers and all these
fucking old drunks in suits.