Live Review: Destroyer, Naomi Keyte

Destroyer is the moniker of Dan Bejar from acclaimed Canadian act The New Pornographers. While that band has a far larger profile, Destroyer has developed a small underground following throughout the world, although not enough to bring a full band to a tour of Australia. With a small gathering spread across tables and booths in The Gov, despite the size of the room, there was something quite intimate about the vibe of the show.

Naomi Keyte was the opening act playing to a very modest, but attentive audience. With frequent collaborator Mary Webb she started off on a gorgeous Kieran Ryan cover that is a staple of her set list. It always sounds amazing live. She eased through a number of other recognisable tracks from last year's release, like Undertow. The cover of Beds Are Burning by Midnight Oil was certainly interesting, although some of Keyte’s other tracks could have worked better, given her great repertoire. 

Keyte can't be faulted live, with an impeccable and pure vocal style. It has to be said that when she has the opportunity to play with her live band, comprised partly of members of Sparkspitter and Swimming, they certainly add some amazing textures to her sound. Still, when pared back to the duo that performed, she still sounds wonderful and Mary's accompanying style had a tangible sincerity to it. With some relaxed crowd interaction and a flawless set, it was a solid lead-in for Destroyer. It was a great first gig for her at The Gov and given the scarcity of other acts in her category in the city, one can assume it won’t be the last.

Dan Bejar came to the stage in a very unassuming way, with very little fanfare, to start the Destroyer set. With his very unique vocal style, he immediately grabbed the audience's attention. His somewhat charismatic singing technique had a semi-ironic style, strangely not unlike a hipster Tenacious D. It's probably not an observation that would sit well with die-hard fans, but it should be taken in the context of his reflective, self-aware approach, which is the cornerstone of his performance and the identity of Destroyer.

More importantly, this ironic and vaguely postmodern approach also carries through to the lyrics. The slyly funny but optimistic narratives made for some compelling listening, particularly as unpredictable turns kept the audience guessing. The higher, almost theatrical aspects of Bejar's singing are really where the variety and greatest points of engagement come into play. In conjunction with the sweet and soft sounding major seventh chords, it all just comes together. 

The sound of Bejar's guitar was a bit thin and twangy, which perhaps wasn't ideal for an international artist of his reputation and calibre. With the pleasing melodies and chords, perhaps some reverb, light delay and chorus effects wouldn't have gone astray.

With a dry sense of humour, he didn’t need to say too much to get some laughs between songs. The minimalist crowd interactions were actually quite refreshing. A big narrative style isn't always needed for crowd engagement. "I wrote that on a bus in the '90s," is more than enough. 

Bejar provided Adelaidians with a pleasurable, yet low-key Tuesday night; an evening with '00s Canadian indie rock royalty. While it was not overwhelmingly memorable, there was plenty to like about the set and Naomi Keyte's support slot.

There was something a bit morose about seeing a member of such an iconic band walking around the near-empty venue at the end of the night, but on the other hand, it’s nice to see profile musicians in more intimate contexts.