Tom McRae
'I've been doing this for 10 years,' says Tom McRae, 'and it feels like it's slowly growing. But we don't know if we'll ever reach great heights.'
It's a fair summary of 40-year-old McRae's career, which, like many of his epic songs, is a slow-burner.
Mercury-nominated McRae's bleak musical output has been hailed by critics yet ignored by all but a core of devoted fans, some of whom fill three-quarters of the Wedge on a freezing Sunday night.
Thankfully, after two albums that aimed for the mainstream, McRae has rediscovered his black heart for his latest, The Alphabet of Hurricanes.
New tracks Me & Stetson and Summer of John Wayne tap into the sprit of rebel country music, while ballad Still Love you is helped by a chorus of audience participation.
A five-piece band adds bite to older favourites like Karaoke Soul and the closer, a superb extended The Boy with the Bubblegun.
McRae has a nice line in bleak humour, regaling the crowd with tales of how the band try to invent merchandise such as the McRaeyons (they're all black) or the McRaedio (only tells you bad news).
He's spontaneous too, baffling his band by launching into a ukelele-based version of Rihanna's Umbrella – or, in his case, 'Tombrella' ('you open it and it rains on you').
Not destined for stardom then, but to those in the know he's a secret treasure.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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