Butter Wouldn’t Melt – Movespace Jan 22, 2022
Butter Wouldn’t Melt, the Wellington-based folk duo, squeezed in one last show before lockdown set in on Saturday night on Auckland’s Dominion Road.
The venue was Movespace, a 100+ year old house/venue that promotes itself as “Auckland’s living room & Home for Creators.”
It was a beautiful summer’s eve as your intrepid reviewer made his way up the creaky stairs, through a kitchen and then, following the sound of the music, found myself ‘up on the roof’ where Albi (Chris Dent of Albi & The Wolves) had just begun his solo opening set.
Beanbags were plentiful (and comfy) and I snagged a spot near the front (there were other chairs further back) and stretched out for a chilled listen.
Albi was in fine form…telling his covid stories and clearly happy the he had met a new possible significant other via Zoom…she lives in Melbourne but they plan to meet very soon.
So, Albi had new love songs to try out on us before he and his Wolves ventured out on tour. (Here’s hoping that will happen).
As the sun began setting Albi wrapped up and our headliners, Andrea Reid and Nick Burfield began setting up. True to their folk roots instrumentation included acoustic guitars (Nick plays a 1940s Gibson arch top) while Andrea plays a variety of instruments including a tin whistle, a dulcimer and a bodhran drum along with her guitar.
Both sing, and the magic happens when their voice combine in harmony.
The duo’s debut album, 1931, was just released and the set started with the album closer, Walk And Talk. The sound of their voices and instruments floated through the night air and if one looked up, one couud watch a star or two twinkling overhead.
Literally heavenly.
In true folkie form, they spent almost as much time introducing their songs as playing them. Fortunately, the stories behind the songs were riveting.
The Tunnel tells the tale of murder and misery…a true story that took place in 1931 when the Wellington tunnel was built.
Eve of 31 documents the 1931 Napier earthquake and like true songwriting historians, Andrea and Nick have ‘done their research’ describing the sound of the quake as ‘shaking like a freight train”. Look for the duo to perform this piece of Kiwi heritage on February 3 at the Napier Memorial service (Covid willing).
It wasn’t all earthquakes and murder.
The couple met at the Auckland Folk Festival a few years back and of course that genereated a song (Overdue) and a story about an exploding floodlight.
By this time Andria’s mother, Jean Reid, joined the show, adding harmonies (she sings with Celtic Ferrit and Supersheep).
And eventually Albi ambled up and now the duo was a quartet. They picked up the pace with a folkie/funky version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine and then a lovely reading of the Milk Carton Kids’s Michigan.
Other covers included Dave Rawling’s Short Haired Woman Blues and his partner Gillian Welch’s Caleb Meyer which closed out the set.
By then the sun had set and the night was ours. Fortunately, there was no rain, street noise was kept to a minimum (except one briefly blaring motorcycle) and the chill in the air was easily overcome my the warn vibes generated by the music and the people on this tiny rooftop in the middle of Auckland.
Marty Duda
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