At first glance of their MySpace page, Young Werther looks like a bit of a folky, acoustic act with a penchant for writing sad, melancholy folk songs. So I was surprised when a full band got up on stage, including two guitars, bass, drums and keys and started kicking out more upbeat pop/rock.

My initial reaction to their sound was early Powderfinger – I could hear good Aussie rock and roll. The band had a great guitar duo, playing in clear lead and rhythm spaces and complementing each other. The rhythm section solidly backed up the guitars, with the bass and drums coming through loud to fill out the sound. The first couple of songs were rocky and upbeat. The drumming in Around the World was superb, and I felt that drummer Atticus Bastow held up this high level of quality all night. From the start however, the keys were lost in the mix, and even from different corners of the room it was hard to discern what they were adding to the overall sound.

Mick Young makes for a great frontman; his voice cuts across the sound and holds the music together. I get a sense of his leadership and direction in the music and he looks like he’s genuinely enjoying performing for the audience. He had a good nature with the crowd and the band, from forgetting to hand out the set list until after the second song, to joking about the crickets chirping in the gap between songs, to having a laugh with my friends and I about MySpace and how much we paid to get into the show.

Mick’s vocals perfectly complement the band he put together, and this was evident in most of the songs he has written.  By the third song, Young Werther were entertaining us with a beautiful sad, minor quality of vocals and massive swings in the range of the band’s dynamics. The next song, Break the News, cemented these dynamics as an integral part of the band’s sound. Soft harmonies from bass player Peter Maverick over understated acoustic guitar, was smoothly built upon with subtle drums and a phenomenal big guitar steel sound. 

A Week in Hell finally got some keys to the forefront of the mix, and I did enjoy the melody. Peter Maverick played a very supportive bass, knowing exactly how to add the low end to the music without muddying it, and this was highlighted by his performance in this song.

The biggest disappointment of the night was the crowd; it was mildly appreciative but just lacked any fire or desire to get into it. The venue was full of tables, and while this isn’t conducive to dancing it was clear that the relatively small crowd (no more than 30-40 people) wasn’t going to get up and dance. 

Well into the set, my perception of the band started to change, and I was suddenly wondering how much these guys did represent the traditional Aussie rock and roll mold. I could hear something really contemporary in their music, almost like Mumford and Sons or Grizzly Bear. If they market it right, Young Werther have the potential to reach a lot of receptive ears with this album.

The songs were big and full of sound, even when stripped back to acoustic and vocals. Cornish Green was illustrative of this, while the next song (I didn’t catch the name!) was like a mix between The Beatles’ Paperback Writer and U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday. It was the kind of song you want to dance to. Young Werther rounded out the set with three songs that actually got me up and dancing by the end. They were a tight unit, as would be expected on the last show of a national tour. Knights of the Department Store translates to a fantastic album live, and I expect Young Werther to ride a wave of success from its release.

For a man and an acoustic guitar, main support act Micaiah had a huge sound. His music was carried by big bass notes and clear melodic highlights, but the true value was in his smooth vocal style. A friend of mine could only hear Cat Stevens, and I had to agree there were musical and vocal similarities, but I felt Micaiah was more upbeat and his lyrics were less emotionally intense. Micaiah has a good voice for singing soft and beautiful ballads; it has a subtle power which is accentuated by the simplicity of his playing only to an acoustic. He was a very smooth operator, a cool dude and I enjoyed his set (although I felt the cover of Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head to be a bit predictable and unnecessary). I was surprised to find out that he usually plays with a full band, and given it was Micaiah’s first time in Adelaide, I hope he can bring the whole band back here soon.

First support We Grow Up had it fairly tough, having to start to a pretty much empty room, but I admired their spirit as they jumped straight into their easy to listen to brand of fun pop music. Jangling acoustic guitar, supportive bass and lots of 4/4 pop drums meant that while We Grow Up had a pleasant sound they failed to break any boundaries with their music. Typical vocal harmonies, while sounding impressive, confirmed this. We Grow Up’s firm grasp of good pop songwriting helped them to deliver a solid set to begin the night.

Header Photo taken by Robert Jansen at Raval in Sydney
.