Delaney Davidson
5th April 2024
ToiToi, Hastings, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
Bringing his new album “Out Of My Head” out on the road – courtesy of Chamber Music New Zealand, Delaney Davidson and his band have provided the perfect foil to the shitshow being inflicted on the country by the current Coalition of C…s!
There’s more than one way to interpret the album title – are we talking about someone being out of their own head, dissociated from all around them? Or is it the contents of one’s cranial space that we’re exploring, i.e. ‘this all comes out of my head’? Or perhaps a bit of each? Or does it really matter when it’s as good as this was? Fuck it, enough with the philosophising – let’s talk about the show!
Coming on with a minimum of fanfare, to a background of multiple messages resembling the old-timey travelling show from which this feels to have descended, it was straight in to the album opener, title track “Out Of My Head”. Inspired by the dearly departed Hamish Kilgour, this is a paean to the overcoming of self-doubt, with its central theme of ‘Just be part of it baby’ (easier said than done, for one with social anxiety!) the perfect opening sentiment.
“Can’t Get You” brought the bluesy, swampy vibe reflecting its John Lee Hooker inspiration, with the added element of the string ensemble helping to build a nice dynamic tension.
After a couple of songs, the ice having been broken, it was time for a little audience interaction! Asking if we were ‘ready for a good time’, promising to deliver it with the first run-through of the new album in Hawkes Bay-and proceeding to deliver on that promise, in spades.
This was far more than just a dry rendition of the album material, though, perhaps exemplified by the intensely theatrical and choreographed “Drive Me Wild” – a visual highlight, to be sure!
Perhaps the centrepiece of the overall conceit of the piece, “Heaven Is Falling”, with its swooping string intro and motif of ‘How Can I Explain?’, grasped the golden thread running through all of this and pulled it all together.
“Racing Through the Night” forms a heartfelt expression of the summoning of an object of desire, sharing a similar theme of the seeking of deep connection with “Listen To The Stars”, a couple of tracks further along. But at its end, the final takeaway is that offered by “Just Call”, an invitation to rest from the fight and relax. And so concludes the main set, being composed solely of material from the album.
Accomplices in Delaney’s mission were numerous, six of them to be precise! And on the same day that the aforementioned coalition said the quiet part out loud, and implied that the voices of women (among others) should be given less weight, it was pleasing to note that over half of the personnel were drawn from the distaff side, being Heather Webb on guitar and bass, Carla Camilleri on keys, and two of the three members of the Black String Ensemble, cellist Sarah Spence and violinist Jessica Hindin. Rounding out the numbers are drummer Chris O’Connor and the ensemble’s third member, violinist Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper.
For all of the size of this entourage, however, it was a solo Delaney who took the stage for the first song of the encore, “Everything Is Here”, a missive from the ‘church of Delaney Davidson’, of which the mission statement is ‘there’s only one way and that’s the way things are’. Worked for the audience, anyways!
“Broken Wheel”, taking as its central tenet ‘it might be broken, just leave it alone’, called to mind the delivery of vintage Steve Earle, not a bad source of inspiration at all, before the return of the full band for the closing song “Little Hearts”, an ‘old song but I like it’, in Delaney’s words – and ultimately, is there much better of a reason to perform a song?
Having exhausted the planned material, all too soon did the show draw to a close, leaving a satisfied audience in its wake, looking forward to the next appearance of this troubadour in their neighbourhood! There are three more shows in this run – look out for them and catch them if you can!
Were you there at ToiToi for this beautiful gig? Or have you seen Delaney Davidson perform live sometime else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes 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 an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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