The Merri Creek Tavern, Melbourne – Sunday 10th December.
Partway through a national tour supporting Courtney Marie Andrews, it was great to see this Texan musician’s intricate fingerpicking and sharp storytelling stretched out over a longer set.
Switching between acoustic guitar and keyboard, the 90-minute show afforded Ellis the time to perform material he hadn’t been able to play in his shorter support slots, among them “California” from his 2016 self-titled album and great versions of “Father” and “Passive Aggressive” from 2019’s Texas Piano Man.
An engaging performer with hilarious between song banter, when singing Ellis rarely opens his eyes which lends the more hushed material from his latest album Yesterday’s News an even more confessional air, especially on songs written for his children like “Gene” or “Close Your Eyes”.
Tonight’s show also included some surprising covers a riveting version of Nina Simone’s “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon” which was an impromptu request, a complete reinvention of Tropical Fuck Storm’s “You Let My Tyres Down” and a beautiful rendition of John Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind” to close the show.
You can still catch Robert Ellis on the final few shows of his Australian Tour:
- December 13 – The Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne (with Courtney Marie Andrews)
- December 14 – Eltham Hotel, Eltham (with Courtney Marie Andrews)
- December 15 – Stranded, Brisbane
- December 16 – Enmore Hotel, Sydney