The host of the evening’s entertainment was the prolific Jamie Hutchings and his Imaginary Choir who form the bulk of the current musicians behind Hutchings’ solo work.  As the heart and soul of Bluebottle Kiss he has released 6 albums, all of a consistently high standard, plus numerous EPs and singles.  His first solo record, The Golden Coach, received positive reviews and showcased the less intense side of his songwriting.  Its follow-up, His Imaginary Choir, is due for release early in 2009.

In support were Mark Moldre, The Shipwrecked, The Maladies and Loene Carmen.  The Maladies are a raucous bunch delivering swinging gothic blues with conviction who seem to get better each time I see them.  Loene Carmen continues to deliver her sultry Americana tales of love won and lost.  Her success is how she marries loose and ragged guitars with her cooing vocals to conjure up that dark hazy atmosphere.

A Sunday night at the Annandale is always a nice way to prolong the weekend and postpone thoughts of Monday morning and Hutchings brought a family feel to the evening with his sister Sophie on keys and backing vocals, wife Erin also on backing vocals plus brother Scott on drums.  The setlist showcased a range of tracks from the upcoming His Imaginary Choir and 2002’s The Golden Coach as well as the tour only EP After The Flood.

The sound of Hutchings solo work is not a million miles from Bluebottle Kiss but the key difference lies in the tonality of the songs and their structure.  Absent is the dissonance and note bending swagger of BBK’s live shows and replacing it is a more steady and measured approach.  Sophie’s keys in particular lent a delicate touch and her vocal harmonies with Erin Hutchings really did work well both with and against Jamie’s earthier voice.

New songs such as ‘Flame Thrower’ and ‘I’m Going To Have To Ask You To Leave’ highlight his sombre melodic sensibilities which have always been one of the strongest assets to his craft and can be traced from earlier songs such as ‘User Friendly’ to the newer songs he played.

As the backing band, His Imaginary Choir, the musicians put on a solid performance, if a little tentative at times.  The songs themselves could easily exist and succeed as just voice and guitar in a live setting so the arrangements and their live delivery benefited from the band providing colour, light and shade to the songs, enabling them to breathe rather than suffocating their essence.

As one of Australia’s great songwriters, Hutchings continues to deliver great performances and convince us of his art.  One senses that with the release of the new solo album and more shows under their belt, the band will further settle in and develop as Hutchings’ live Imaginary Choir.