Tex Perkins & The Fat Rubber Band
Factory Theatre
Sydney, Australia
04 February 2023
It must have been at the tail end if 2006 when two icons of the Australian rock scene, i.e. Tex Perkins and Tim Rogers, joined forces under the moniker TnT to channel what they described to be the equivalent of Leonard Cohen doing KISS style songs.
Musically, the collaboration was imbued with the trademark tongue-in-cheek, jocular bravado yet it also resulted in what felt like some of their most vulnerable and sombre songs. I vividly remember a live incarnation in Western Australia that not only had the stage set up centred around a bar, which only added to the appeal and amplified their respective personas.
Given that I have grown to love both artists and their oeuvres both solo as well as the numerous incarnations with their core and other bands over the last seventeen years, a sense of excitement ensued when it was announced that the two raconteurs were to reunite in celebration of their respective new albums with Tim’s The Twin Set and Tex backed by The Fat Rubber Band.
With both artists performing individual sets with their respective aforementioned bands, of which we unfortunately missed the Tim Rogers’ component of the evening, Tex Perkins and The Fat Rubber Band delivered an exquisitely nuanced performance.
With Tex having proved over the years how versatile his incarnations can be, depending on the contexts and bands he channels his alchemy in, it was interesting to see him perform as part of a band that seems to have its focus firmly set on sounding as rural as can be.
Backed by Matt Walker as he weaves his entwined guitar conversations to form a tapestry of plaintive bluesy, calm and occasionally howlin’ atmospheric, country tinged harmonies which serves as the backdrop against which Tex projects his trademark self-deprecating and redemptive lyrics into a vivid narrative. The result is a comprehensive a comprehensive, artfully formed whole that is much more than the sum of the individual constituents would have one guess.
Specifically impressive were the barbershop-quartet acapella interludes, which accentuated the collision of acoustic and electric instruments and added yet another unexpected facet of depth and proved that Perkins has so much more to offer than the gravelly baritone he is prominently known for.
Not unlike any other time I have had the chance to experience Tex Perkins live, it was a remarkable set, this time rooted in the realm of existential blues.
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Photo by T
