Busby Marou Tuning Fork February 9, 2018

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After testing the waters in NZ with opening slots for James Blunt and Paul Kelly, Australian duo Busby Marou jump in with both feet with their first headlining tour across the ditch.

First up was Auckland-based singer/songwriter Jamie McDell who, during her very well-received set, revealed that she has been recording in Nashville and also offered up a beautiful version of John Denver’s Leaving On A Jet Plane, dedicated to her parents, who were in the audience.

Busby Marou is comprised of two blokes from Rockhampton in Queensland…Thomas Busby, who sings lead and plays guitar, and Jeremy Marou, who sings harmony and plays guitar and ukulele.

Together they have been treating Australian audiences to their brand of sunny, feel-good acoustic music for about a decade, but with three albums under their belt, they’ve finally made the decision to make an impact here in New Zealand.

And while two guys sitting around singing and playing guitars may not seem like the most unique thing on the musical map, the duo proved that they deserve a look in thanks to their live performance.

It’s Tom Busby who does most of the talking during the show and he turns out to be quite the charmer. He begins by thanking rapper Macklemore for supporting them…he is playing at the much larger Spark Arena just next door…then gets the local crowd on his side with his self-deprecating humour and his enthusiasm about being in New Zealand. To top it off, he can’t say enough good things about Jamie McDell.

But even before Busby had a chance to unleash his charm offensive, they had a significant portion of the crowd on their side as a cheer went up almost immediately as they launched into their first song, Got Your Back, from the latest album, Postcards From The Shell House.

For his part, Jeremy Marou did most of his talking with his fingers. His brief, concise guitar solos were much-appreciated and his harmonies coloured Busby’s lead vocals perfectly.

The duo exuded a laid-back vibe that comes from their time hanging out at Great Keppel Island, where they spend a good portion of time writing and rehearsing.

In addition to their own songs, the boys threw in a couple of tasty covers…a bittersweet version of Boys Of Summer that had the place singing along and Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want To Have Fun.

After telling the crowd about their “campfire jams” back home, the duo finished the evening with a makeshift jam in the middle of the room, among the crowd, playing and singing Konomie.

By this time Busby Marou had the crowd in the palm of their hands. I have no doubt that they will be back in the not-too-distant future, playing to a much larger crowd.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Veronica McLaughlin:

Busby Marou setlist:

  1. Got Your Back
  2. Getaway Car
  3. Full Moon
  4. 5 Rocks
  5. Drink The World Dry
  6. Boys Of Summer
  7. Biding My Time
  8. My Second Mistake
  9. All Of You
  10. Girls Just Want To Have Fun
  11. Paint This Land
  12. Best Part Of Me
  13. Underlying Message
  14. Konomie
Marty Duda
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