The Enigmatic Gareth Liddiard

“When did mediocrity and banality become a good image for our children? I want my children to listen to people who f….g rocked! I don’t care if they died in puddles of their own vomit. I want someone who plays from his f…ing heart!” – Bill Hicks

I couldn’t think of a more apt piece of dark prose from the late comic genius that pertains to the brilliant and indefinable Australian musician Gareth Liddiard.

If you’ve ever seen footage or stilled photographs of the audience watching The Jimi Hendrix Experience at Woodstock or The Isle of Wight, you will have noticed the look of wide eyed astonishment on their faces.

That ‘Malcolm from Clockwork Orange’ stare is what most of us experienced at the Recital Centre in Melbourne on the 2^nd of March when Gareth played with Chris Abrahams and Jim White under the guise of Springtime.

Chris and Jim are both legendary, internationally recognised maestros of instrumental, improvised music. Both have had phenomenal careers with The Necks and The Dirty Three respectively as well as many other collaborations with various artists over the past thirty years.

It’s an unusual but not surprising amalgamation of three fascinating and fearless musicians, albeit with a generation gap between Gareth and his two band mates who are hitting sixty years young.

The Springtime music was a combination of Gareth’s explosive guitar and vocals, tempered by the stunning and distinctive piano of Chris and the steadiness and calm of Jim’s drumming.

Both men were virtually inanimate except for the occasional grin looking on at Gareth’s antics, like grandparents overseeing an errant grandchild in a sand pit.

Gareth was so ‘into’ the performance he failed to notice that he had unplugged his guitar from its amp at one stage and spent a few minutes troubleshooting in all the wrong places.

This is an artist that becomes so possessed on stage he is almost in an altered state. If Springtime continue past this recent tour you will experience a show full of light and shade and ultimately compelling.

I have a close friend Karl, who is a Novacastrian and fine musician. He’s also one of those friends that is always measured and doesn’t offer opinions without some considered thought behind them.

We were visiting Karl and his family in Newcastle about fifteen years ago when Karl espoused the virtues of Gareth Liddiard almost in reverential terms which was most unlike him.

Over the next few years I took my eldest daughter to two ‘Big Day’s Out’. Ok, there may have been some self-interest with Neil Young and Iggy Pop headlining at each, but it gave me an opportunity to also see Gareth’s first band, The Drones and Gareth playing solo acoustic at both events.

Most recently we were blessed to see Gareth’s other combination, Tropical F…kstorm. In an extraordinary night at The State Theatre, TFS played live their version of the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film, No Country for Old Men, whilst the film was played on the big screen.

Each time I see Gareth Liddiard it reinforces what Karl told me all those years ago. This is an authentic and unique artist. Great music and powerful lyrics delivered with enormous conviction by a man who knows no other way.

Gareth and his partner Fiona Kitschin, who is also the bass player for The Drones and TFS, live in Nagambie in regional Victoria with their dogs. They have been able to stay totally independent, meaning they haven’t had to compromise artistically in all their endeavours.

Gareth is a disrupter and his performances, whether it’s with The Drones, TFS, Springtime or solo will challenge you. He strikes me as someone who takes his art very seriously but has a self-deprecating, relaxed nature.

Before writing this, I spoke to Karl for his summation of Gareth if he could put it into a few words for me.

He described Gareth’s music as being like a musical version of the great Australian film, Wake in Fright. Visually brilliant and with the capacity to unsettle you by shining a light on an Australian culture that many in our country refuse to confront.

I’m sure Bill Hicks would have loved Gareth Liddiard so I’ve included the original ‘bit’ of Play from your Heart below. Pls be mindful there is a language warning .

Before that, some clips from Gareth’s career so far. Firstly The Drones covering Kev Carmody’s River of Tears at his celebratory concert and used on the Cannot Buy a Soul tribute album in 2008.