The Hopetoun is the pefect venue to see someone like Mick Turner.  The brick walls, small space, low stage and the devoted few.  I missed the support bands as I was trying out the new eatery upstairs (Rider) and can report the food is damn good, especially the kangaroo burrito, believe me – try it!

Mick was playing solo tonight, with Jeffrey Wegener (ex Laughing Clowns) accompanying on drums.  Barefoot Mick employed the use of the usual swaying and stumbling guitar as well as some laptop samples and solid use of a loop pedal and bow.  Melodica and harmonica also made an appearance to flesh out the wandering instrumental pieces.

The guitar style of Turner is truly a unique sound and feel.  It comes across tentative, lazy and almost like an afterthought.  He builds circular repetition into motifs that demands closed eyes through their mesmeric drones.  For those of us so familiar with the Dirty Three you can almost hear Warren’s violin in the background but to Mick’s credit the performance doesn’t suffer in that sense.  His layering via a loop pedal creates his own ensemble which at different times brings the Velvet Underground and Tortoise to mind.

The only downside was the length of the gig, a couple more songs would have been great and apparently there were supposed to be projected images to accompany the show.

Mick also has an exhibition on at Blank Space until tomorrow so check that if you can.  His art has the same movement and imagery that inhabits his music.