LIVE: ABBE MAY – Perth, 14 April 2018
LIVE: ABBE MAY – Perth, 14 April 2018
Jack Rabbit Slims, 14th April 2018, with Tashi Hall, J.F.K., Jamilla
Review & photography by Pete Gardner
Abbe May never fails to disappoint. Bringing her Fruit tour back to Perth following her brilliant album launch at the Chevron Gardens as part of the Perth Festival, Abbe May played a fantastic homecoming show at the more intimate Jack Rabbit Slims in Perth’s Northbridge.
Starting proceedings, the early crowd were treated to the highly talented local singer songwriter Tashi Hall, who played an engaging solo set, including a few tracks from her self recorded EP on which she plays every instrument. Tashi is an excellent guitarist and well worth checking out on the local scene either solo or with her band.
After a short break J.F.K. exploded onto stage with their unique brand of garage rock. I’ve seen James Knox and the lads perform on a few occasions now, and tonight’s show was the best I’ve seen them yet. James himself in typical style is very quietly spoken and almost appears shy as he walks onto stage, exploding into a seemingly possessed wild creature as the music fires into life.
After a thoroughly enjoyable half hour the band leave the stage too soon, making way for Jamilla, another local artist with a great soulful voice, Jamilla’s music incorporates many samples with an RnB beat, including a sample of the great Nina Simone on the track Tattoo.
After another short interval, Jack Rabbit Slims is at capacity as Abbe May takes the stage. Ever the brilliant guitarist, Abbe breaks into a solo for the intro to T.R.O.U.B.L.E. to a big cheer from the crowd. Returning straight to a number of tracks from the new album, starting with Like Me Like I like You, and the sublime album opener Love Decline, played a little more laid back than the album version, but with a guitar break again proving what a damn fine guitar player Abbe truly is. The crowd sings along to Bitchcraft, and continue singing and dancing to the excellent, and sensual, Make Love Not Sense, and the love song to her niece, Seventeen.
Taking a pause to chat to the crowd, Abbe tells us that due to the curfew the set has to be cut a little short, which to all assembled is a major disappointment, but entertains everyone present with a variety of stories, including the hard-lesson-learnt advice to never have sex with a sociopath, with the added advisal, “…or me, because I will write a song about you,” as well as apologising for cheating on us here in Perth with other cities on the tour, but we are her favourite, and of course she was thinking about us the whole time. This leads very nicely into Are We Flirting, complete with a stunning guitar break again showcasing her brilliance as a musician. Switching to the acoustic guitar for Tinderella, she again tells us how much she fucking hates Tinder.
Drummer Matthew Wright gives a storming drum solo intro to Doomsday Clock, and Abbe’s Brother, Doug “K. T. Rumble” May, follows this with the solo intro duties on Bass for Universes. Rounding off the set with Mammalian Locomotion and Taurus Chorus from the Design Desire album, an audience karaoke for her brilliant version of Ginuwine’s Pony finishes a brilliant set, leaving us sweaty, satisfied, and yearning for more.
One review of Fruit compared Abbe May’s song writing to that of Prince, a sentiment I can only agree with. Fruit is my album of the year, and the songs translate to the live performance brilliantly. The packed house at Jack Rabbit Slims testifies to the love Abbe May’s home town audience have for her, I can only hope she doesn’t spend too much time cheating on us with other cities and returns home again very soon.
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