It’s hard not to sound poetic when I say that even Sam Brittain’s bung notes sounded beautiful.
Since starting out busking on the streets of Adelaide in 2011, Sam has reached #1 on the Triple J Unearthed Roots chart. This performance (4 June) was the first concert as part of his third album, ‘Signal Lights’, launch tour.
The Gov filled with hundreds of locals ready to hear some of the best of what SA has to offer. The cold Adelaide night meant the fire was lit and this only added to the alternative country/ folk feel of the evening. The vibe is something akin to that of country music festival, Rock the Mount. But it was ‘Slainte’, performed with support act, Irishman B.R. Dalton, which stole the show.
The song perfectly encapsulates the Irish way of life and the sadness of moving away from everything that has hurt you in the past. “I see him sitting at the bar alone it’s a Friday night for law / But it’s the weekend now at Temple bar drinking Guinness with a straw / He said the life I have been living, where I was born on Haddington Road, the days I spent as a child there feel like a very long time ago.”
Sitting so close to this long-haired man with his acoustic guitar and the smell of fire lingering nearby, I can only imagine how perfect it would be listening to this song in the open, country air, sitting on a log around the campfire. “Picks up his cap and old blue jacket, makes his way towards the door / Goodbye, goodnight my friend Slainte, I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
