LIVE: THE TEA PARTY, Perth, 9 Nov 2015

Shane | 12 November 2015 | 1 Reply

LIVE: THE TEA PARTY, Perth, 9 Nov 2015
The Tea Party: 20th Anniversary of The Edges of Twilight album tour
The Astor Theatre, Perth – Monday, 9 November, 2015
Reviewed by Claudia Ribiero
Photography by Stuart McKay

In the early nineties when The Tea Party began their career, Seattle grunge dominated the music scene. At the time, there was no band with a sound like the Tea Party. Fast forward to the present day, with the 20th year celebration of their second and most fan beloved album, The Edges of Twilight, there is still no band quite like the Tea Party.

The playfully created genre of ‘Moroccan roll’ perfectly suits the fusion of rock ‘n’ roll and Middle Eastern sounds from this unconventional Canadian band. On the stage of the Astor Monday night, those very sounds permeated through the auditorium, pulsating with the audience into one hypnotic heartbeat.

The first set included the entire track list from the album, some scarcely performed on stage previously. The crowd, ranging from teenagers to seniors, could be seen collectively bopping heads, raising hands, tapping feet and reciting the lyrics that can only be described as esoteric poetry. Women even danced in the aisles, like shamans entranced by sound.

[Show picture list]

Jeff Martin, the ‘Captain’, beckons us into their world with gesticulating hands, carnal baritone voice and godlike guitar magic. Stuart Chatwood enchants us with his eclectic musical diversity and genius, while Jeff Burrows entraps us within the ecstasy of his majestic and flawless drumming.

The Tea Party played classic favourites Sister Awake, Bazaar, Shadows on the Mountainside, Coming Home and Fire in the Head, but the crowd responded with equal unbridled fervour to tunes like Correspondences, Drawing Down the Moon and Silence. Turn the Lamp Down Low had the boys drop their guitars and pick up some bongo drums, uniting with Jeff (Burrows) in percussive, primal alchemy, followed by some guttural grunts and bellows by Jeff (Martin).

The second set was a diverse and at times, surprising selection from other Tea Party albums including, Save Me, Halcyon Days, Writing’s on the Wall, encoring with Temptation. Inserts of covers from the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Doors were weaved in intelligently and skilfully, re-birthing the classics. Zahira/Rakim sees Jeff (Martin) singing in Aramaic, giving voice to a pained and troubled Middle East, lands they obviously connect to, evident in both their sound and the diverse collection of instrumentation from the region.

The Tea Party have seemingly, truly made peace and set aside differences, their joy and brotherhood evident on stage and it oozes into the audience. The stage backdrop, a collection of art works undulating to the sonic beats, like portals into mystical and faraway realms. White shards of light shoot from above as if at any moment the trio could be beamed up into the heavens and for those few hours, we too are transported.