Review by Nick Corr.
The Milk Carton Kids – Live at Thornbury Theatre, Sunday July 9, 2023
Grammy-nominated traditionalist folk duo The Milk Carton Kids wowed a sold-out crowd at The Thornbury Theatre as part of their first Australian tour since 2015
Sharing a mic for their close harmonies and delicate acoustic guitars, and occasional banjo, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan worked their way through a set drawing heavily from their most recent album I Only See The Moon.
The audience was incredibly respectful and pin-drop quiet as they opened with “Younger Years” from their 2018 release All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do before moving straight into the title track from 2015’s Monteray. More up-tempo songs like “Honey Honey” and “Heaven” from 2013s The Ash & Clay got the crowd more animated and received a great response.
If he didn’t have the voice of an angel and play some mean banjo and guitar, Joey Ryan could fall back on a comedy career with some very entertaining and self-deprecating banter, mostly regarding the older demographic of their audience.
From their brand new album, I Only See the Moon tonight’s show including a great solo acoustic performance of the title track, a spell-binding “North Country Ride”, the banjo-led “All Of The Time In The World To Kill” and a show-closing “Will You Remember Me?”
The main set also included a riveting version of “Michigan” before closing with “I Still Want A Little More”, both from their debut studio album 2011s Prologue.
The duo returned for a short two-song encore that included their well-regarded cover of Pink Floyds “Wish You Were Here.”
If you missed them so far, there are still a couple more chances to catch The Milk Carton Kids live in Australia: Tue 11th July Memo Music Hall, Melbourne VIC; Wed 12th July Way Out West Roots Music Club, Newport VIC; and Thu 13th July Adelaide Guitar Festival SA.