“Searching For Charlie Owen”
Charlie Owen
Cam Butler
Pete Ross and the Sapphire
Django Bar, Marrickville
Friday 16 August 2024
WORDS: Edwin Garland
PHOTOS: The Barman

The Camelot Lounge and its smaller cousin Django Bar, really are the most unheralded venues in Sydney’s inner-west. They’re in a great location, directly opposite Sydenham Railway Station, with Django holding about 120 people and the other about 200.

There has been a lot of love and attention to detail put into the fit-out with all sorts of antiques and obscure paintings on hand. Food and bar prices are reasonable, the sound is immaculate and there’s loads of atmosphere and vibe.  In a time when it’s a struggle for venues to keep themselves alive, big kudos to the owners.

_{Pete Ross and The Sapphire.}

I had heard that Pete Ross and the Sapphire was a band to go and see. It appears the talk  was well founded. The band are now near veterans, forming almost 13 years ago. They have multiple European tours under their belt and a record deal on the legendary French Beast Records. They are new to Sydney and an understated gem.

“Soul of Sun” opens and the set and what strikes me right away is that this is a band with swagger and that “Exile on Main Street” looseness that only comes after many gigs. The Sapphire automatically slips into a groove.  It’s swamp and roots rock on a similar level that connected the white kids in USA to the Flying Burrito Brothers, a cool take on roots music.

The swing comes from the warm attack of bassist Susy Sapphire and drummer Lisa Mosse who nails that Charlie Watts feel. The duo locks in and doesn’t stop all night.

“Sea of Blue” is wonderfully delivered by frontman and rhythm guitarist Pete Ross who’s able to switch from a croon to a rock vocal effortlessly.  Guitar player Matt Allison shines, knowing when to underplay and when to  soar. He reels out some  terrifically melodic guitar  lines.

The combo finished with “Wire”, a lazy county field swagger right from the Grams Parsons period of the Byrds. This song could have been on “Sweetheart of The Rodeo” minus the harmonies.  Matt Alison steps in with tasteful and imaginative guitar. The song was met with wild applause.  

The band won everyone in the  room tonight and I will certainly be looking for another gig. There should be a lot more attention paid to these guys and girls. They are top shelf.

_{Cam Butler solo.}

Cam Butler takes the stage and carefully sets up. Best known in Sydney as being a member of Ronald S Peno and the Suspicions, the vastly underrated combo whose appearances all too were rare in the Harbour City,. He was also the most recent songwriting muse to Ron with whom he had a duo. He’s been a fixture on the Melbourne gig scene for years.

Cam’s track record as a soloist and producer cannot disputed with many releases of his own instrumental albums with guitars and strings, capturing a vision of Australian soundscapes. Tonight, we are given a window into his unique vision with a 45-minute set.

Camsworks with looping pedals, adding layers as his songs build. This is an artform that works on immaculate timing and precision. In other words, it’s not as easy as it looks. Cam begins his opening song with a single arpeggio and then adds rhythms. Soaring notes and counter melodies add to the drama. A magnificent set full of atmospherics and he certainly lives up to his status as being a guitar player’s guitar player.

After a short break, Charlie Owen wanders on- stage after a selection of guitars are placed perfectly in order.  Charlie re-arranges his pedal board and jokes about his own professionalism.  I’ve read about Bob Dylan’s early folk days in Greenwich Village and how his charm was partly down to his early unprofessionalism that created a vibe of endearment. I’m not sure whether it was intentional, but Charlie already has everyone in the room on his side.

Charlie really is one of the last of our outlaw rock musicians and songwriters. These outsiders could eke out a living because there were numerous gigs that paid cash in hand, and many could pick up extra money by playing on other people’s records. Charlie has the stories drawn from those days and is, of course, a superb guitar player.

I first encountered Owen in the late 1980s when he was with the New Christs, packing his black Telecaster Deluxe and playing songs from the seminal album “Distemper”.  Tonight,  he’s playing a range of songs but also telling the back stories. These are engaging and larrikin tales about Ian Rilen, Don Walker, Paul Kelly and Tex Perkins.  

After an anecdote characterising his relationship with Rilen, he reels off “Saturated“, the song they co-wrote that was recorded by the Beasts of Bourbon.  Playing off a  Neil Young vulnerability in his own vocals, Charlie peels the song right back strips to minimalism with his sparse guitar-work.

Perhaps the best moment was his story of working with Kris Kristofferson ending with a backstage invitation to play the next show in Sydney, making the gig against the odds in the face of hailstorms and a plane strike. He makes it to discover himself on stage to play five songs with no rehearsal.  Charlie broke into Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” to bring the house down.

_{Charlie and Cam.}

It's Charlie’s skill on dobro that adds extra shine tonight when he’s joined by Cam Butler for a stunning version of “Play With Fire”. It’s powerfully dark in tone and evokes an atmosphere similiar to Anerica's Deep South, with Charlie’s playing recalling that of maestro Ry Cooder on “Paris Texas”.

It was music drenched in coolness, and light and shade. At one stage, Charlie is joined by his wife Kylie on keys and Lisa from The Sapphire on brushes ,and you get the feeling that he and his crew would played into the early hours of the morning, if allowed.

The set was dedicated to Ron Peno but it may have been in honour of any number of his many peers who have departed, Ian Rilen, Spencer P Jones and Louis Tillett among them.

I’m left pondering a time when songwriters had a whole cast of characters living around them and they inspired an abundance of stories to emerge from the shadows at the edge of the music industry. They were a little like the people who populated Bukowski’s “Tales of Ordinary Madness“. The genius was found when those songs came directly from the soul via grungy pubs - and not from something like “Australian Idol”. Charlie Owen captured that tonight.

Searching for Charlie Owen
Australian Tour
AUG
30 - Wesley Anne, Northcote, VIC
+ Martin Frawley
31 - Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC
+ Martin Frawley
SEP
1 - George Lane, St Kilda, VIC (2:30pm)
+ Martin Frawley
Tickets