Hal Willner – Rogue’s Gallery Live, Sydney

2010, January 28 – Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney

A Concert of Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys

Hal Willner takes Rogue’s Gallery all the way down to Australia as part of the 2010 Sydney Festival.

Featuring: Marianne Faithfull, Tim Robbins, Todd Rundgren, Gavin Friday, Peter Garrett, Baby Gramps, David Thomas, Sarah Blasko, Katy Steele, Peaches, Glenn Richards, Liam Finn, Camille O’Sullivan, Kami Thompson, Marry Waterson.

The Rogue’s Gallery band:

Kate St John (musical director/oboe/cor anglais/accordion/saxophone)

David Coulter (saw/fiddle/banjo/mandolin)

Leo Abrahams (guitar/hurdy gurdy/bouzouki)

Martyn Barker (drums/percussion)

Rory McFarlane (acoustic/electric bass)

Roger Eno (piano/keys/harmonium)

Staged outdoors on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, the show and audience suffered under very wet conditions.

Gavin Friday sang three songs, duetting with Sarah Blasko on “Tom’s Gone to Hilo”, and accordion player Sharon Shannon joined in on “Baltimore Whores”. His third song was “Pinery Boy”.

Irish Echo: “Dubliner Gavin Friday, for example, who had performed with the Gallery in London last year, was flawless in his delivery.”

Sydney Morning Herald: “Gavin Friday, one-time lead singer with the avant-garde Irish group the Virgin Prunes, effectively stole the show with an emotionally persuasive version of Baltimore Whores.”