News and Features Change from
the grunts a step above pub rock 15 December 2005 The Sydney Morning Herald REVIEWS Russell Crowe The Vanguard, December 13 Reviewed by John Shand What price fame? An alcohol-fuelled
woman beside me was there to jeer. She apparently paid her money
specifically to wield her secateurs at an Aussie she decided had
grown too big for his own good - or perhaps, in some way, for hers. She laughed and gabbled derisively
though the songs, ridiculed Russell Crowe's height, and asked him why
he could smoke on stage, when she was not allowed to in the audience. "It's part of the performance," was
Crowe's deadpan response. Ah, yes, when you could hear it
there was a performance going on, and despite the soft target someone
like Crowe presents when he steps from the zillion-watt Hollywood
glare to a modest little stage in a Newtown bar, it was rather good. The six-piece backing band retains
three members from the last incarnation, but the name has lost its
Grunts and become The Ordinary Fear of God. The songs are new, mostly
written in collaboration with Canadian guitarist/singer Alan Doyle,
and carry occasional echoes of Elvis Costello or Bruce Springsteen,
while the likeable title track to the new CD, My Hand, My Heart,
nods boozily towards Tom Waits. Once warmed up, Crowe was chummy
enough, telling entertaining background stories to the songs. The
pick of these - so good it even silenced my neighbour - was Mr Harris,
written for Richard Harris by Crowe on the back of a coaster in a They had planned to attend an
Australia/Ireland rugby test together, but Harris died before the
match came round. Crowe went anyway, and Crowe's own voice seemed to grow
as the night wore on, until there was ample strength and ample passion
to convincingly front a punchy and versatile band, which was a marked
step up from mere pub rock. Russell Crowe performs at the Vanguard every
Tuesday until January 24. |
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