The Laughing Clowns Come Back To Town

The mighty phoenix of the Laughing Clowns
will rise from the ashes to again show that
everything that flies is not a bird.
Jeffrey Wegener



And the phoenix did rise, all the expectations
were surpassed, in the kind of performance
that will be remembered here as one of the
greatest. All of the elements that made this band
unique were there, these guys are musicians
of the type streets ahead of the others and
they were clearly working well together and
enjoying it immensely.



As did the crowd who were captivated and
enthralled through the entire show.
The trouble is finding the words to describe
what happened on the stage, except it was
brilliant.


Ed Kuepper was his usual brilliant self,
joking and generally enjoying the whole thing.
Playing like the genius he is, but not dominating.
The Clowns was the band that introduced Ed's
vocal work to the world and they remain some
of my favorite of his vocal performances.
If his voice had been under any strain after
the ATP gigs it didn't show.

Ed's Amp guitar set up for the clowns is a bit,
um, smaller than for the saints. Gone are the
Marshall amps, instead a vox. The vg8 and strat
are still there, but we have a whole different sound.




Jeff Wegener was on fire, he retains his place
as the greatest drummer I've ever seen and
the only one who has got my attention over
everything else going on in a band, repeatedly.



Louise Elliott is just an incredible improvisational
musician, she is the lead focal point in a band
where everything can compete for your attention
all at once and she gets it.






Leslie 'Bif' Millar is a fantastic bassist and a
admirable musician who put on a fine show.
Innovative and a worthy partner to Jeff in the
percussion section, I thoroughly enjoyed his
work.



Also on tour was Alister Spence on
keyboard, the only not original member,
he is a brilliant and well respected jazz
musician who apart from being very happy,
added a lot to increase the depth of sound.




Goma the venue for the event is Brisbane's
pride and joy, our fantastic fairly new
Gallery of Modern Art, the prefect place to
see a band who have often been identify
as an art band. Before the gig we just wandered
round looking at the fantastic exhibits, it was a
great vibe and a great way to get in the
mood. Eds inclusion of collapse board in
the set was a very funny reference to the
Gallery's exhibit theme, optimism.



The visual art on display behind the
band during the performance is the
stunning work of Judi Dransfield Kuepper
and David Granato, which of course was
fantastic.



I know heaps of you guys were
there and it was great to catch up with Glen
at the show, but I what to hear all your
reviews.
I was rather organized this time and took
a pen and paper to record the set list.
Best of all news has come in Chuck made
the gig against the odds and recorded it.
Fantastic news indeed.

Laughing Clowns, Goma, Brisbane, 24-01-09.

Set List
01 Fly Paper
02 Come One. Come All
03 Everything That Flies Is Not A Bird
04 Theme From Mad Flies, Mad Flies
05 Nothing That Harms
06 Collapse Board
07 Eternally Yours
Encore
08 Bully in Town
09 Winters Way

Check out in the comments for plenty more reviews
from blog readers. , such as

The great music of the past shone in an atmosphere
that was joyous for the past of not only the band,
but of the majority of the audience and that audience
that included me!
The Laughing Clowns are one of the greatest bands ever!

John

Been a while since I've been so excited by a gig that really
really delivered. My expectations were very high
and I was certainly not disappointed.
Hence exclamation mark overload! :)

Kenneth

As others have said, great set and Bully was a highlight
for me after Eternally Yours. Also, Ed actually said that
Winters Way pre-dated the Saints, implying I think
that it was a simple little number.
How far from the truth.

Anonymous

So add yours too.