Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy

Adelaide Fringe Festival

Garden of Unearthly Delights – Idolize tent.

Wed 7^th March 2012 – 10pm.

Words by Allison O’Donoghue

The highlight of the 2012 Adelaide Fringe Festival for me was definitely the rare and unique appearance of singer, songwriter and sometime actor Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy aka Will Oldham. You might remember his performance in John Sayles (1987) film Matewan or more recently in Jackass 3D (2010) as the gorilla tamer. Hysterical performance.

Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky - Oldham is best known as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy it is safe to say his music has folk and country roots with a blues over-feel, some say punk but I wouldn’t go that far. His lyrics might have punk irreverent overtones but his musical leanings are decidedly swamp bluegrass to me. Some have called him an ‘Appalachian post-punk solipsist’ – I have watched a few doco’s on the Appalachian mountain musicians and their strong generational music traditions passed down from old to young. I can hear smatterings of that in this set. And there is even a nod to Robert Johnson– but then again anyone worth his or her bluegrass swamp roots rightly gives a respectful nod to Robert Johnson. So his influences are clear.

Supported on this tour by Angel Olsen on backup vocals, Emmett Kelly on guitar and harmony, with Van Campbell on Drums and surprisingly no bass player tonight. This line up appears to be a regular touring group for Bonnie however he has gone under the names of Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, Palace Music and simply Palace. Apparently he changes the name of each group depending on whom he is playing or recording with at the time. Albeit, this time he is touring with musicians who feature on his 2011 album ‘Wolfroy Goes to Town’ and they focus mainly on showcasing songs from that album.  There were calls for older songs however they went unheeded as Bonnie stuck to Wolfroy songs. Fair enough.

Kicking the set off with No Match, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy gives us his take on God and all that he/it stands for. He’s ‘no match for those who love the lord and they’re no match for me’. Bonnie mentions God a lot in this set of songs – he’s either in conflict with God or trying to make sense of God, either way his focus is decidedly divine in nature. He does declare that living in Kentucky is “God’s own country” so it stands to reason he must have to deal with the God Squad on some level.  Regardless, it’s a good song that questions religious belief systems. He did refer to the city of churches - Adelaide’s unfortunate and redundant moniker, as if we could relate to it. Well not really, what was once a religious state is more secular now than ever.

New Whaling is a beautiful, soft and lyrical song. ‘So far and here we are’ talks of lessons learnt over the years and the getting of wisdom – ‘Actions, behaviours, beliefs they come with me too’, made more poignant with the stunning backup vocals of Angel Olsen – she sings like an angel indeed. ‘Once I had a partner but now that is done’, lost loves, depending on the ending, can be painful.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is a bit of a poet. His lyrics are honest and heartfelt. Time to be Clear is another song that God gets a mention, ‘God isn’t listening or it’s too late’. It’s a song about waking up and facing facts – what’s real, what’s imaged or what’s the truth about a situation and the death of a friend, which seems to have him questioning why he is here. ‘Got news of his passing and I’m stuck singing here.’  It is always a good idea to take stock, have a look around and see if you’re in the space/place you want to be. An interesting song about not sweating the small stuff before it’s too late.

He did a few more numbers before departing the stage. Black Captain, Quail and Dumplings and the beautiful There Will be Spring and other songs that I forget the name of, he didn’t always announce them. A man of few words, but he did repeatedly say, “I’m finding it difficult to breathe.” So were we. The Idolize tent was full, no air conditioning and poor ventilation with standing room only, the audience nearly drowned in humidity and sweat. It was little wonder Bonnie and band wanted to get off the stage despite the call for encore after encore they resisted the urge to give us more in the stifling atmosphere.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is a great singer songwriter who tells it like it is and sings from the heart supported by excellent musicians. Next time, if there is a next time, I’d like to see Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy in an intimate setting with a sit down arrangement and ventilation. Nonetheless, it was a fun gig made even better by the camaraderie and ease with which they played. Excellent Fringe event.

Excuse the bad photos I think my camera was also drowning in humidity and moisture.