Live Review: CW Stoneking, Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders

Just in the process of walking down the hill at Taronga Zoo to the stage, we've seen a smug kookaburra steal a full bread bun from a punter, an anxious camera-shy elephant, and a zoo employee stacking it on the steps. The weather feels more like Autumn than it has all season, but who could argue with that view?

Opening with the pared back Strange Things, slightly kooky Marlon Williams instantly takes us miles away from our spot on the grass almost to a Quentin Tarantino movie set. Silent Passage, Bloodletter and Heaven For You, Prison For Me all get aired, three-part harmonies provided by the amazing Yarra Benders. Williams' emotive voice sits confidently atop the band's sultry double bass and violin lines, while the crowd sit swaying on their picnic rugs, munching on wine and cheeses. After All —  "a song about travelling and being bad and being rewarded for it" — ups the tempo for the first time all set, featuring call and response vocals between Williams and the violinist/guitarist and the bassist and drummer. A solo acoustic cover of an Ewan MacColl song showcases Williams' stunningly controlled vibrato and we're all feeling the love in the air at that very moment. To end the set, the drummer steps up to the front with a mandolin and the four gather around one mic to play some perfectly harmonised bluegrass tunes by the Stanley Brothers — "we like bluegrass music, don't we boys?" Williams asks. Nobody's Love Is Like Mine is a rollicking hoedown and a bunch of couples spontaneously burst into barn dances in front of the stage — it's such a fun way to end the set.  

Clad in his usual all-white poplin shirt and trousers, CW Stoneking takes the stage and immediately takes us back to the grimy sweaty basement of a blues club in the deep south, two beautiful women in red velvet dresses and three dapper men in all black clapping along with him to opener How Long. Stoneking's lazy drawl and accent is an art in itself and when Zombie's theatrical screams fill the amphitheatre, we're enthralled. Get On The Floor is a jaunty number, bringing full use to our brass section and double bassist, and providing the perfect soundtrack for a couple of adorable senior citizen ladies in cat eye glasses and poodle skirts to start having a jive. The pavement in front of the stage (henceforth called the dancefloor) fills up in moments. The band bring out the castanets, a pineapple-shaped maraca and cowbells for The Thing I Done, while other songs from the "new rekkid" like Tomorrow Gon Be Too Late focus on Stoneking's warm and inviting slur. 

Instead of screaming, this is a crowd that ululates and screeches "Ai! Yi! Yi!" towards the stage in appreciation, and this is heightened even more during sexy salsa-inspired The Love Me Or Die. Brave Son Of America's catchy trumpet and trombone riff is a big hit with the crowd, keeping everyone's hips swayin' and shoulders movin' through what has become quite a cool night. Stoneking is a quiet man, pouring out a laboured "thank ya ve'y much" after every song, though he does dish out a rare joke about being in the Smoking Animals Enclosure, a slight smirk curling his lips. He coyly dedicates Jungle Lullaby to the snoozing zoo animals. 

Punters may first attend a CW Stoneking show with the novelty of hearing era-authentic music you probably won't get to experience unless you're 90 and lived through the '30s, but they'll come back a fan for the fact that Stoneking is a stellar performer and damn good fun every time.