The Famous Spiegeltent evokes a certain type of mystique that does a lot to preface (and perhaps overshadow) any potential performer that may grace its floorboards. In Patrick Watson though, the venue found an ideal match.
It was early in 2009, again at the Sydney Festival, that I found myself amongst a room of, what were by many accounts, disappointed fans of The Cinematic Orchestra, perhaps willing Jason Swinscoe to somehow magic the voice of ‘To Build A Home’ on stage in the Angel Place recital hall. A year on, the voice belonging to Patrick Watson was wondering how his song came to soundtrack a lemonade commercial, to a much smaller audience held on every word.
Watson’s layered, evocative take on pastoral pop and folk-tinged shanties shone through in his live performance, particularly thanks to his backing band. The beauty of peripatetic drum beats matching Watson’s tinkering piano was all too easy to fall for, with Watson’s at times glossolalic delivery adding depth to the sound. Left to its own devices in the acoustic encore, that voice resonated through the tent even when whispering the singalong ‘Man Under the Sea’.
But for a performer so at ease with making a crowd comfortable, regaling tales of his collaborations and stories behind compositions, there was a distinct fragility to everything that Watson did that evening. At first it didn’t seem so obvious; behind the charm and occasional banter with band members was Watson the raconteur, excited to share stories as much as the music. As the songs unfurled, each was introduced with Watson’s boyish but utterly endearing remark “and she rolls like this”.
It was there too in the encore, which apparently held a distinct flavour each successive evening as the entourage lost more and more of their instruments; on the first night Watson emerged with a jetpack-style amplifier, but by Wednesday it was all but lost somewhere in the annals of the city. His accomplice whipped out a saw to provide the accompanying warble as they traversed the length of the Spiegeltent’s aisle.
Even a month or so after this experience, Watson’s performance is still fresh and vivid, a beautiful moment from a space that has often proved a little too intimidating for its other occupants.
Alexandra Savvides
