Iva Davies in fetching cutaway top - pic by Tony Mott
Bankstown RSL 19/7/87
The eloquent "Paradise" and acoustic-launched version of "Dusty, Pages" are gone, logically replaced with the soaring guitar and vocals of "Crazy". Congratu-lations must go to Andy Qunta and Robert Kretschmer, as well as Iva, on this song which has developed a further sparkle in performance. The bulk of the media persist in their Icehouse - Iva view of the band, while this tour and its first taste of the new material go further to prove Icehouse are more than a one-man band these days.
Aside, from showing the consolidation of the group, what makes this tour excitingly distinct from the last two is the presentation and dramatic pacing. Ice-house show how "dedicated to glam" they can be, pulling some very clear visual tricks which really boost the energy of the songs. The "how do we get the band on stage" prelude has changed, the tense theme from "Boxes" replaced by an effective barrage of aircraft sounds, and an almost ironic warning voice-over, assuring the audience through the air raid that they need have no fear. From the first song they certainly have no fear of an unentertaining moment in the show.
Perhaps the crowd should be warned instead that this show involves lots of catches of breath, plenty of surprises, a real party on stage.
Iva's prancing about has settled into less of a put-on, which it was last tour to the detriment of his delivery, producing lots of gutteral rasping and some clearly
Most of the old material holds true,, "Hey, Little Girl", and the epic" Great Southern Land" sound even riper than when they were first aired, and "Sister" hammers along. Unfortunately "Can't Help Myself" has lost much of its original desperate edge and turned pure bop, tiresome like "We Can Get Together" and "Taking The Town". You can have too much of a good thing; I'd prefer to see something more surprising in place than see songs damaged. The rather trite and repetitive "Mr Big" could go too, with something more adventurous, like the lusty, stumbling "Lucky Me", or the snarl of "Not My Kind" to shake a few minds as well as cobwebs loose. There is no lack of other "old". material, if the new is under wraps till next tour, which would get the same reactions.
Steve Morgan, the new addition since the recording of the album, is a real blessing not only for his solid bass, but strong backing vocals, very noticable when you puts lots of oohs and na na nas in your chorus lines. He works well with Paul's now settled drums, keeping the pace tight and between them making Icehouse's other electronic assistance less noticable. Andy and Simon keep piano and keyboards distinct, smiling and interesting between the swathes of dueling guitars. Bob plays his lead breaks with a sensuality and restraint rare among so many over-the-top guitarists, and it's
The overview of songs presented in tonight's show left me feeling Icehouse are steadily moving from their younger evocative, imagistic lyrics, scattered with occasional outbursts of raw emotion, to more concisely expressive songs, expo-sition and storytelling richly tempering personal experience and replacing the
Whatever delights or displeases you with this set, the uncompromising sound, the new colour and brighter energy in performance and the overall quality of the songs carries the audience away. This Icehouse gets warmer every day.
SUSAN RYAN