Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed 16 June 2019
Max Savage is one of the lynch-pins of the Adelaide music scene. Composer, singer, musician and entrepreneur, Savage puts 100% into everything he does.
With his new show, Nobody Knows My Name, he presents original songs and spoken-word all set around the city after-dark.
The usual night-metropolis motifs are there: cheap Italian dinners; late-night coffees; heartbreak and whiskey. But these are painted against the backdrop of Adelaide, rather than New Orleans, or Los Angeles, or Paris. The work is slightly reminiscent of early Skyhooks, unapologetically sprinkled with Melbourne references.
Ranging across styles from country, to rockabilly, to hard-grinding blues, every one of these works is masterful. Each song or poem stands on its own, yet they all segue beautifully and form a whole. Savage is possibly one of our most (as yet) underrated songwriters. He should be up there with the best.
Musicianship from the band: Kyrie Anderson, Kiah Gossner, Tom Kneebone, Brenton Foster and Django Rowe; was passionate, earthy and very tight. They are all superb musicians in their own right, and they also form an organic whole that delivers in bucketloads. Every number worked just the way it should.
The audience “went off”. Their wrapt attention to every piece was visible and audible. A standing ovation brought the band back for one last number.
This was world-class entertainment, and a testament to the strength of the contemporary Adelaide music scene.
Here’s hoping that this show sees a repeat performance very soon.
More please, Mr Savage!
Reviewed by Tracey Korsten
Twitter: @TraceyKorsten
Rating out of 5: 5 SUBLIME
Season ended
https://www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au/
https://maxsavage.bandcamp.com/
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