Julia Deans
15th August 2020
Tasting Room Haumoana, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Olivia Robertson.
This is a country haunted by the spectre of Co…..*. It prowls the landscape, seeking victims, and our largest conurbation has suffered its effects, and continues to, to a greater extent than the rest of us. Perversely, there are those who would welcome an onslaught, but the more sensible among us can see the damage this strain has wrought on the international stage, and seek to mitigate against it. As we are continually being reminded, the key to resistance is unity, and if we all band together, as we have done before, we can defeat this sickness.
The best way to foster this unity is by coming together (in appropriately sized groups) to collectively enjoy common experiences. The Sitting Room Sessions perfectly encompass this aim, being small but perfectly formed, congregations where there is no distance between performer and audience, and all are benefiting from the interaction.
Into this milieu, after a nervously speculative week of build-up, (one in which, as a reflection of these fucked-up times, a negative is a positive thing) came Julia Deans, making a bid for the title of hardest working Woman in (NZ) show business by performing not one, but two Sessions on the one day, a matinee at 2pm and one for the adults (by one of The Adults) at 8pm. The matinee performance was the one I attended, having been asleep at the wheel when the evening performance was announced and sold out in very short order. This meant that the show took place against the backdrop of a stunningly sunny winter’s day, one of the type that Hawkes Bay does so well, and provided the perfect introduction to the delights about to unfold. Her two most recent appearances in the Bay involved occupying other people’s lives, firstly in the Joni Mitchell tribute show “Both Sides Now” at the Hawkes Bay Arts Festival, and then in Festival Opera’s Art Deco Weekend presentation of “Cav & Pag”, so this was a return for Julia as Julia.
It has been observed previously, almost to the point of cliche, that some of the happiest faces can mask some of the most burdened souls, and to a degree this is certainly true of Julia Deans, whose effusive and genuinely humorous stage banter contrasts with the depth of feeling of her songs, the lyrics of which often tell of a life of hard-won experience, but from which she’s emerged inspired and triumphant. Through it all, her multi-faceted voice weaves sinuously, being an integral part of the melodic structure, alongside monkey-grip (her words) guitar playing. The way in which these songs stand up to this stripped down format, absent the studio flourishes, demonstrates the strength of the material.
As far as the choice of material, the setlist, as shredded as it may have become, covered the full scope of Julia’s long career (would you believe Fur Patrol’s debut album “Pet” is 20 years old this year?). Part of the inspiration for this eclectic mix sprung from Julia having recently re-engaged with much of the early material, ahead of “Pet”’s imminent anniversary re-release on vinyl. Also, as Julia stated, being in the middle of writing for an upcoming album where most everything is coming out heavy, the impetus in choosing live material is towards lighter material. The darkness of these new songs is evidenced by a previously unplayed piece which got pulled out in response to temporary Hawkes Bay resident Amanda Fucking Palmer’s request to “play your saddest song”, and boy was this delivered on! Sorry guys, didn’t catch the name of it, and to reveal its subject would be to risk creating a spoiler for the next album. Rest assured though, the lyrics were accompanied by some beautiful notes, as was so often the case in this set. Those of you familiar with the type of confectionery with a sweet exterior concealing a sharp burst of sour sherbet-you’ll know what I mean! And yet, as with such treats, the extremes blend perfectly together to make for a supremely enjoyable combination. The sad songs say so much, one might say.
The breadth of song choices spread as far back as one which didn’t make the cut for “Pet”, but which still holds a place in her heart. This was followed by “The Panic”, from the most recent album “We Light Fire”, which is strangely reflective of current times, in spite of being at least two or three years old – a prime example of the way in which the best songs take on a truly timeless quality, and speak across the years.
Given this was the second show played since lockdown, an understandable (but adorable) degree of rustiness became apparent when playing audience-requested song “Souvenir”, such that it lead to an abandonment and a promise to practice during intermission, so it could be heard as intended. This promise was delivered on, demonstrating a level of artistic integrity, and honesty, that you don’t always find! Another new song to receive an airing was “Six-string Heart”, whetting the appetite for the new album, whenever it may eventually appear. This was followed by the song composed for Charlotte Yates’ recent project involving the setting of Katharine Mansfield’s poetry to music, for which treatment Julia selected the poem “To LHB”, a poignant piece written in honour of the author’s brother, tragically lost in World War One.
Then it was a leap from lyrics rooted far in the past to some songs from a more recent past, with a return to the Fur Patrol oeuvre for songs such as “Holy”, “Hauling You Around”, with a diversion via 2010’s “A New Dialogue” , before coming back (almost) to the present day with “We Light Fire”, which as mentioned above is the title track of the most recent album. This song, with its lyrical themes around the commonality of human experience, neatly encapsulated the journey we’d all just been through, and would’ve been a perfect point on which to finish the show. Perfect, that is, if it wasn’t for the most played Kiwi song on NZ radio in 2000, namely “Lydia”, which made its appearance as the intended final number – I say intended because the audience weren’t going to let it end there, demanding an encore, which was delivered in the form of the title track from 2010’s debut solo album “Modern Fables”.
All around, then, this was just what the doctor ordered, in terms of a meeting of hearts in a shared environment, while also increasing one punter’s (not me) musical education, with him being instructed on the difference between a capo and a pick! While Auckland, aka Tamaki MaCovid, endures the straitened circumstances of level three, out in the provinces we hold the candle towards a brighter future.
Following on from here, this current sojourn winds it’s way through various points southward, and is highly recommended to all.
*Collins, that is. As for Covid, we got this!
Were you there at this Sitting Room Session for this magnificent show from a Kiwi music legend? Or have you seen Julia Deans perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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