Reb Fountain
30th October 2020
ToiToi, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Olivia Robertson.
Regular readers of my words will be well familiar with the Sitting Room Sessions, small and intimate events in which crowds of no more than 50 get up close and personal with a carefully curated selection of musical talent-mostly NZ based, but leavened with a soupcon of international acts (or pre-Covid, anyway).
On this night the Sessions went large, with a move to the glamorous grande dame of the HB performing landscape, ToiToi, fresh from her many star turns at the Hawkes Bay Arts Festival. The move provided space to host one of the premier acts in NZ music today, in the form of Reb Fountain, currently touring her most recently released, and eponymously titled, album. Its release actually occurred in the middle of the country’s first lockdown, but times being what they are, the tour has followed somewhat later than it otherwise might. Still, all good things come to those who wait, and on this night there were many good things indeed to reward the patient!
The evening commenced promisingly, with a solo set by the second raven-tressed country(ish) chanteuse to grace the same stage in seven days (after Tami Neilson a week prior), Ebony Lamb, formerly the “Eb” in Eb and Sparrow (but now bearing her full moniker to avoid confusion with tonight’s headliner)…(yes that last bit might be made up). Ebony grew up around these parts, so this was a homecoming of sorts, playing songs from her former band, as well as newer solo material, giving a teasing taste of an album yet to come, and setting the stage nicely for Reb.
After a short intermission for refuelling and comfort stops, Reb took to the stage with “Hawks and Doves”, and its apt opening line “Changes, I’ve made some changes”, and proceeded from there to hold 300+ people in her metaphorical hands. Ranging largely through songs from the aforementioned album, the set held many highlights, with Reb coming on like the lovechild of Lana Del Ray and Nick Cave (in the best possible interpretation of that allusion!), channelling the ghost of Flannery O’Connor through a Southern Gothic, spiritually questing filter.
“Quiet Like The Rain” was beautifully atmospheric, leading in to “Faster”, with its western-tinged guitar riff taking on a hint of surf tone (Ennio Morricone meets Dick Dale, perhaps) in the hands of Dave Kahn. New song “Hey Mom” is a product of Reb’s self-imposed lockdown discipline of writing a song a day, and reflects the influence of that doubtful time, while whetting appetites for the new album said to have been laid down between then and Lockdown 2.0 ( the Tamaki Makaurau mix).
The one-two punch of “Samson” and “When Gods Lie” was shortly followed all too soon by the closer of the main set, a storming rendition of “Don’t You Know Who I Am?”, Reb possessing the stage like an antipodean Patti Smith, giving full expression to this multi-faceted and complex song, and leaving the audience demanding more.
This arrived (after an effusive tribute by our host, Mr Jamie Macphail), in the form of the touching “Lighthouse”, with its themes of mutual support through the dark times, and a cover of Nick Cave’s “15 Feet of Pure White Snow”, to bring the curtain down on a truly stunning night’s show. This tour continues through many more dates, wending largely through the South Island before reclaiming the North-there are still a limited quantity of tickets available, so get out there and see it!
Were you there at ToiToi for this beautiful noir punk-folk gig? Or have you seen Reb Fountain perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Hawkes & Doves
- Strangers
- Quiet Like The Rain
- Faster
- Gold
- It’s A Bird (It’s A Plane)
- Hey Mom
- Swim To The Star
- Heart
- Samson
- When Gods Lie
- The Last Word
- Don’t You Know Who I Am?
- Lighthouse
- 15 Feet
Note: Banished Music provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission.
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