Tuesday March 13, 2012
Supported by
Jegar Erickson
UV Race
Objectivity and an emotional response are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but they can make strange bedfellows. I knew when entering the venue it was going to be difficult to be objective about a musician I've been a fan of for close to 20 years. It seems to me if you become a bit of nerdy fanboy about someone or something, which I'm often guilty of, that you can often be both an apologist of the artist's shortcomings, but simultaneously you can be super-critical - “I've heard him do that so much better, way back in blah blah, from a soundboard recording in 1979 at blah, that was leaked by blah blah”.
I've been well aware of Roky's tumultuous life, the struggles with imprisonment, drugs and mental illnesses, for as long as I've known his music. I'm also incredibly happy that he seems to have come through those struggles and is active again, but it's hard to deny those struggles in some way contributed to Roky's unique outlook and ultimately his music.
His five piece band, (sorry don't have their names) began the set without him, with Bo Diddley Was A Headhunter, a couple minutes in Roky wandered onto the stage, his roadie strapped on his guitar, all the while a rapturous applause broke out from the capacity crowd around me. He resembled his early 80's appearance, long hair and bushy beard, but obviously a much greyer 65 year old. He looked fairly healthy and happy as he stepped up to the mic.
I can say that I perhaps lowered my expectations somewhat...was that from being an emotional fanboy or a critical/objective reviewer? I'm not sure. But what struck me immediately was how good his voice sounded, strong and confident for the most part. Particularly in song 2 Cold Night For Alligators Roky seemed very fired up, seemingly to the amusement of the rest of the band. He became a little more subdued over the course of the set, but his vocal ability seemed to remain.It wasn't difficult to notice Roky's continual fiddling with the toggle and volume knob. It could of course been a tech problem, but I tend to think it may have been to do with stage fright, an onstage nervous twitch. Certainly Roky was playing much more ragged lead guitar than I was expecting, getting enthusiastic encouragement from the lead guitarist in the band. It didn't always work of course, but when it did, it was kind of thrilling, because it was so unexpected.
The songs were shambolic in parts and sometimes they sounded like jams rather than rehearsed songs, but the nature of many of his songs, well you can't really go too wrong. A few bemused glances back and forth and songs seemed to get things back on track for the most part. And the set was pretty fantastic.
Personal highlights, a raucous Don't Slander Me, the unexpected Elevators' track Reverberation and a rough but powerful Two Headed Dog. A lovely moment was when Roky's son Jegar stepped out front rather than singing backup (he also was a fairly able support act) and sang the Elevators' ballad Splash 1 with his Dad. It was actually quite a nice moment...schmaltzy or moving depending on your level of cynicism.
The obligatory encore was of course You're Gonna Miss Me, was admittedly a little disappointing, possibly the most ragged of the evening. Roky seemed the most lost in this song and sang sporadically. But the prior set had already more than made up for it.
There was a lot of love in the room which is quite infectious. Perhaps in the end the emotional response won out over objectivity. Afterall, I'm a fan, but trying to have some distance, despite the missteps it really did work as an enjoyable gig. This was Roky Erickson in Melbourne in 2012...that scenario in itself is kind of a minor miracle on it's own.
Text and images © Matt Warren 2012
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