Paul Kelly
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Friday, August 29th
The last time Paul Kelly played the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in 2009, he appeared as a guest of Leonard Cohen. Now, over a decade and a half later, every paying customer in the sold-out arena is here to see one of Australia’s finest.
Fanny Lumsden opened proceedings, followed by Lucinda Williams and her rocking band. Williams is frail after a 2020 stroke. She walks with a cane and no longer plays guitar on stage, but her magnetism resides. Highlights from her set included “Stolen Moments”, “Drunken Angel,” and “Joy”. The latter segued into Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker”, which sat alongside a killer take on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and the closer, “Rockin’ in the Free World” — which would do Neil Young and current ‘custodians’ Pearl Jam proud.
By the time 9pm hits, we’re ready for the main event. Paul Kelly strides on stage, takes a seat at the keyboards and pounds out a superb “Houndstooth Dress” as band members saunter out to join him. The opener — released last year — provides a clue that Kelly isn’t here for a nostalgia show.
“Firewood and Candles” is next, and the band — now joined by Jess Hitchcock on vocals — haven’t wasted any time before taking flight.
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Prepared to pay homage to those who’ve contributed to his music both here and along the way, Kelly calls out the melodic mastery of the late Steve Connolly’s guitar lines as the players dive into “Before Too Long”. It’s the first time tonight that you can feel a room as big as this react in blissful unison.
There’s a similar nod for nicking some chords from The Go-Betweens before Kelly plays “Careless”, followed by an acknowledgement that The Go-Betweens probably ‘borrowed’ those same chords from somewhere else, and the whole shebang is tied up in some giant shared song cycle.
The newest song performed tonight is “Rita Wrote a Letter”, a prequel to “How to Make Gravy”. The setlist is built on light and shade. With clever backdrops on the big screen, this is a theatre show that’s weaving its magic in a bigger space.
There’s a shift as Kelly leans into his first real signature song, “From St Kilda to Kings Cross”. Soon the band are roaring through “To Her Door”, and the arena atmosphere has been transformed into a rousing beer hall. That’s a hell of a magic trick to pull off — and Kelly duly does it again with “Dumb Things”.
Approaching another orbit, Kelly swaps his guitar for a large-bodied Gibson electric and strums the chords for “Deeper Water”. No matter the calibre of the songs we’ve already heard, this is the apex of the show — a song about life, love, and facing down eternity.
Emotional in a different way is the main set’s closer, “From Little Things Big Things Grow”, which was co-written with Kev Carmody. Kelly might have fumbled the lyrics, but it barely mattered as the crowd carried the chorus. The image of the band playing in front of a giant image of Gough Whitlam pouring sand through Vincent Lingiari’s fingers won’t fade quickly.
The encore included “Leaps and Bounds”, while the final number featured the band and Kelly in a huddle for “Meet Me in the Middle of the Air” — which Kelly first recorded with the Stormwater Boys.
A superb night, the show offered evidence of where Kelly’s been and where he wants to go. He is one of the grand masters of songwriting and our unofficial poet laureate. This year he turned 70, and long may he run.
Ticket information for Paul Kelly’s upcoming Australia and New Zealand tour dates is available here.
