Alright, you groovy live music addicts, y'all must know Canadian rock legends The Tea Party have been touring the county, inviting Aussies to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their fifth album, 'TRIPtych'?
Last Tuesday (25 June) was the last she-bang of this celebratory tour. Yours truly is at The Fortitude Music Hall frothing to once again experience the live talent of Jeffrey John Burrows (drums/ percussion), Stuart Chatwood (bass, keys) and Jeff Martin (vocals, guitars) – yes it is The Tea Party time!Inside the venue, it's a seated show upstairs and downstairs. Although I'm not entirely certain this mob of buzzing fans will stay seated for long.
The headliner's fellow Canadian buddy, Jason 'Human Kebab' Parsons is the DJ support act for the night. Human Kebab spins us his creation of selected tunes commanded from his control desk set-up.
I instantly recognise the intro of New Order's 'Blue Monday' and from there we are taken on a one-and-a-half-hour sonic nostalgia tour of mostly '90s karaoke classics, all cinched together by Human Kebab's creative remixes, mash-ups and synth effects.
Punters are enthusiastically singing along warming up their voices to the likes of Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, The Beatles, Fat Boy Slim, Tool, Rage Against The Machine, QOTSA, Butthole Surfers, Weezer, Nirvana and Blur with some bands starring a couple of times in his mix.
The set has elevated the mood in the venue through our united sing-along that has ended with a raucous choir head-banging and screaming along to Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing In The Name'?!
The Tea Party - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The time has finally come for our moment with The Tea Party! What better way for the band to feel instantly at home than with the implosion of cheers greeting them the second we spot Jeffrey John Burrows hit the stage to claim his kit.
Yet another roar greets the dark outline of Stuart Chatswood followed by a mini meltdown rippling among the crowd as the silhouette of the Captain, Jeff Martin, moves in front of the bright digital backdrop towards the middle of the stage to greet our bellowing roars with arms wide open.
Martin sits down to pick at his Canadian-made Godin MultiOud and brings to our ears the adored and familiar eastern sounds of fan favourite track from the 'TRIPtych' album, 'The Halcyon Days'.
From this perfect mesmerising opener, The Tea Party lures us further into their world of exotic rock soundscapes with the so-called Moroccan-roll vibe of 'The Bazaar' from their 'The Edges Of Twilight' album.
Burrows is reminding us just how versatile and masterful he is as a percussionist and we have confirmation that we may get some choice cuts from other albums along with the 'deep cuts' of the celebratory album tonight. This excites me, no end.
The Tea Party - image © Clea-marie Thorne
A call to arms for rock & roll from Martin has fans up off their chairs, with some even leaving their space to take up residence before the stage. Fans are singing and holding up their phones to capture the precious moments with their music idols. It's party time, I tell ya!
An excerpt from Lou Reed's 'Walk On The Wild Side' is perfectly sandwiched between another pearler from 'TRIPtych', 'Underground' that has fans in musical ecstasy.
For those who were unaware, Martin takes a moment to explain how The Tea Party has been "unafraid to delve into the darkness, but the thing about delving into darkness is that you need someone/ something that can guide you down there but can also bring you back up," and that the Greek name for this guide is a "psychopomp". Refer to Anubis and Charon if you will.
The emotions in the room during this song can't be denied. Goosebumps are covering my skin as Martin's baritone sings the words, pause perfect: "And you wanted this. It's so sad to see, the sweet decay of ecstasy," while plucking the intro on his guitar. The second Chatwood joins him on the keys, I have tears in my eyes – 'Psychopomp' is such an emotive piece and the forceful pleading vocals of the chorus are gut wrenching.
Three singles from the 'TRIPtych' album are up next. Their Daniel Lanois cover, 'The Messenger' (with 'Somewhere Only We Know' by Keane snippet intro) followed by the last song before the hidden track on the '[TRIPtych]' album, 'Gone' and track 10, 'These Living Arms'.
Although I was suspicious of the suitability of a seated show, I admit that taking in these songs from my chair is a perfect way to fully immerse myself in the musicianship, vocals, light show, and digital projections for the total Tea Party experience. It's euphoric – almost overstimulating.
The stage is awash with red lights as Chatwood paces in front of Burrow's drum riser while Martin takes place centre stage ready to cast some dark magic upon us with a cello bow as his wand.
Like Eddie Phillips and then Jimmy Page after him, Martin draws the bow across his electric guitar before the packed room. Fans roar with delight at this and the percussive beats made by Burrows. Together we are raising the energy in the room from our sheer excitement. It's an energy worthy of a spell caster.
The Tea Party - image © Clea-marie Thorne
This of course is the lead-in to another welcome medley: 'Save Me' / 'Samsara' / 'Save Me'. Martin's voice is almost drowned out during the chorus by the fans – lucky the guitar is louder!
Martin chats to us often between songs and this time he recounts the story of playing on his 12-string Rickenbacker while waiting to go onstage and instantly knew he had written something special, and when he went to tell Chatwood and Burrows "I think I wrote our first number one," they laughed at him. Well, the joke was on them because he did.
It is of course 'Heaven Coming Down' and the crowd are in a spin. What's more is that we are led as a choir to join in to sing-along to 'With Or Without You' (U2) as it is yet another crafty medley. Boy! The Brisbane Tea Party choir's got skills.
We continue along with the band as it morphs back into 'Heaven Coming Down', before the maestro and guitar-slinging legend leads us further into 'Temptation' from the red-lit stage.
We 'lost all control' and the room erupts to the thick, throbbing momentum of this hit from their 'Transmission' album. It's sounding way heavier live and more thrilling than the recording. Fans are on their feet dancing, singing and some gyrating in their seats chanting "temptation!".
We clap along while Martin plays his solos like a man possessed and Chatwood curates the enchanting cacophony from his keys. All the while Burrows remains an intense and solid machine on the tubs.
The Tea Party - image © Clea-marie Thorne
My throat is hoarse, my ears are ringing and my body is reverberating with the sounds of their deep groove. These are all the good things. No illusion here – "I can feel it!"
Martin with smiling eyes tells us "that my friends is how you finish off an Australian tour". We roar loudly and he says he has a question for us. Before he gets any further a loud voice screams out: "Yes! We want more!" Martin's smile moves from his eyes to his mouth as he nods in her direction and says: "So, you want more?" The crowd respond as one in the affirmative.
So, we are not made to beg for our encore. Burrows, Chatwood and Martin are so impressed by the Brisbane crowd they tell us so. We show our proud, mile-wide smiles when acknowledged in this way and we cheer for ourselves.
Our encore treat consists of another acoustic 'Winter Solstice'. The country rock twang reminiscent of Steve Earle's 'Copperhead Road' is lively and keeps the uplifted vibe alive in the room.
As Martin's plucking gets faster, and as the song gains more momentum so does the energy in the room. We clap and foot stomp to the quickening peaks and intermittent troughs, and Martin gives a little side hustle on the djembe.
We are asked: "Do you wanna know what absolute power sounds like?!" Of course, we do Captain! The strumming of steel takes on the familiar sound of the intro to 'Sister Awake' we lose our sh.t for another east-meets-west potion of pure magic cast over us as the band swings the magic carpet into another direction to journey us through a double whammy of partial covers. The Rolling Stones' 'Paint It, Black' and David Bowie's 'Heroes'. It is brilliant beyond words.
The Tea Party - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Finally, we are taken full circle to the arms of 'Sister Awake' and Martin's voice box and diaphragm never faltering as he bellows the song title over and over in delivering the final throes of the song. (You really, really need to be here right now to get the feels from this as it is indescribably palpable.)
Before departing, Martin addresses the room. "Ladies and gentlemen," he points out and introduces Stuart Chatwood on bass and keys, then points behind him, declaring Jeff Burrows on drums. Of course, when it comes to himself, he just points to himself and states "me". We then get to have our photo of this the last show of the tour with the band!
A special chemistry of raw, unfiltered musical creativity and unwavering fan adoration has created a collective sense of awe hanging in the air. I almost don't want to leave this charged ambience.
This has been one live music experience that has defied all expectations – an extraordinary and enchanting performance, without a word of a lie. I am honoured to have witnessed the enduring magic (dark or otherwise) of The Tea Party's live music prowess.
More photos from the show.
