Art and Music have always made beautiful bed fellows, and never more so than at the new ARTcoustic, hosted by Secluded Records. The Abercrombie is the perfect venue. If anyone has been upstairs I’m sure they had the same reaction I did when I first walked through, which was ‘God damn someone needs to do something with this space.’ So thank the Gods that these guys have stepped up.
Indy art shows can be hit and miss – are you just going to watch someone swinging upside-down as a self indulgent expression of the existentialist angst? Ore are you going to see some truly beautiful pieces, mixed in with some spice and cheek? I can tell you now, forget MOMA and Satchi, this was some of the best stuff I’ve seen.
Why? Cos it’s grass roots and independent and bloody good to look at. What more could you ask for? The treasures of this city are often difficult to discover, which just makes this night all the better.
Avin Jason’s art is criminally under rated in Sydney. His use of colour and texture far excel my ability to talk about them (I’m a punter not a painter), but they’re just a delight to look at. You’ll have seen a couple of his pieces in Music Feeds, and I’m sure you’ll see a lot more in the near future. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked downstairs to find him playing a similarly wonderful set on his acoustic guitar. I guess that’s part of the Magic of ARTcoustic.
Claire Nakazawa also has a uniquely under appreciated artistic, which filled the room beautifully and made me want to take it all home to adorn my own walls. Again, I’ll only fail if I try to describe it, so all I’ll say is watch out for it.
Bob Corbett is a name you’re going to be hearing a lot more of. It might sond like I say that a lot, but it’s true. I’m not sure which won me over more – his smile or his music, but together they make for one of the most enjoyable performances of the year. He’s just a champion, playing up tempo blues with wicked beats and soaring voice. Just read the review of his album on the opposite page. In fact we’ve just received a perspective from the man himself:
“Jason Lowe introduced me to the Secluded Boys – he played one of there shows awhile back and have been really cool – they are definitely the most successful shows that I have played. Everyone there is of a like mind, like last Thursday – with the exhibition going on above and everyone going between the upstairs and down – when you are performing like that it is really good to see..”
It was only supposed to run every Thursday in August, but it was such a success that there’s a very real chance they’ll be back for more – so stay tuned.
