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On a warm and sunny Melbourne day, a backyard party of sorts is underway. It's a gathering of fans of burgeoning music, sunshine, and good food and drink. It's a scene you'd expect in almost any backyard on a lazy Sunday afternoon - only it isn't. This is an unused space converted into a venue to host The Garden Party, held over a series of weekends for the purpose of bringing great music to a unique inner-city location. On today's menu: Husky and The Trouble With Templeton.
It begins with lead singer, Thomas Calder, solo on stage, with nothing but a microphone and an acoustic guitar. It's clear that there's copious talent being exhibited here - there is absolutely no discerning difference between Tom's live performance and his recorded work.
Two songs later, he's joined on stage by the rest of the band. Having grown from a solo act to a fully fledged group in the past twelve months, The Trouble With Templeton has still only played a handful of shows together. However, it's easy to see the quintet have worked hard to perfect their sound, and get along effortlessly; the aptitude to hush an otherwise distracted audience speaks volumes to their abilities.
With the promise of a new album on the way, The Trouble With Templeton offer up numerous unheard tracks. The material seems separable into two distinct categories - the previous melodic sound of The Trouble With Templeton we're familiar with from the first album, and songs with a bolder, rockier twist, much in the vein of the latest single, 'Six Months In A Cast'.
However, the element that really defines The Trouble With Templeton's music is the ability to build their songs to a climax. As shown in tracks like 'Bleeders' and the aforementioned 'Six Months In A Cast', this becomes a common thread for their material, both new and old. It's also a factor that translates well onto stage; the amplitude of these musical culminations show the value of the band over the solo artist.
Though still developing his on-stage persona, Tom's banter seems a little stiff, and he does, at times, disappear to the rear of the stage with his back to the audience. Additionally, I was a little disappointed there was no rendition of 'Someday Soon'; all of these, minor details in an overall commendable performance for this young, talented musician.
It's a unique experience for a gig - casual and informal, yet exceptionally personal. To sample the latest offering from the band is something more special still - 2013 is set to be one big party for The Trouble With Templeton.
The Garden Party runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons until the 17th February - head to www.thegardenparty.info for the line-up and details.
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