Matt Joe Gow & Kerryn Fields – Wine Cellar: December 16, 2023

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Matt Joe Gow and Kerryn Fields team up to give us two headliners for the price of one as a packed house made The Wine Cellar the place to be on this busy Saturday night in Auckland.

Both Matt and Kerryn have headlined their own shows at The Wine Cellar but the two ex-pat Kiwis are in the process of making a new album together and lucky punters got an advanced earful of what to expect come May.

Matt Joe GowKerryn and Matt ambled on to the stage just after 8pm for the first of two sets. To their surprise, the place was full…standing room only.

“Hi friends”, says Kerryn, “thanks for hanging out with us so close to Christmas”.

Then Matt commented on the Auckland traffic. I guess with Matt being born in Dunedin and Kerryn in Tikawiti, a crowded K’Rd on a Saturday night may seem novel to them, although they are now both based in Melbourne. Maybe it’s just those annoying orange cones…

Anyway, with banjo in hand, Kerryn sings a new tune, Prairie Song, while Matt, strumming an acoustic guitar, harmonizes. The sound is sweet and the crowd is immediately entranced.

The first set features seven songs, three are new…that new album is gonna be a good one…we also get a taste of each singer’s solo work and a lovely version of Dylan’s It Ain’t Me Babe, inspired by Johnny and June.

Kerryn FieldsI think the highlight is a co-write titled No Trace….”smoke is rising, shadows are flickering…another new song to look forward to.

Set two is a bit shorter (6 songs) but just as satisfying.

Kerryn and Matt trade verses on a cover of Sir Dave Dobbyn’s It Dawned On Me, a beauty from 1995’s Twist album. That’s followed by the duo’s big “hit single”, Your Heart Of Gold…and it sounds like a hit. The two get into a frisky discussion about how they made the music video…which Kerryn describes as “so ragged”…it was Kerryn who directed and edited it.

The banter is mostly light-hearted fun…much ado about forming tambourines out of crushed beer cans…even if the songs dip into some dark places.

They wrap up the night with one last new tune, the rockabilly-infused Love Ya Like I Can.

With music from the adjacent venues starting to encroach on the good vibes, it was time to go. And so, at just 9:40, it was an early night, but one well worth spending with these artists and their songs.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Jeong:

Set 1:

  1. Prairie Song
  2. Sweet Collapse
  3. Until You
  4. I Let You Be
  5. It Ain’t Me Babe
  6. No Trace
  7. Whirlwind

Set 2:

  1. It Dawned On Me
  2. Your Heart Of Gold
  3. Atlantis
  4. Between Tonight & Tomorrow
  5. Flowers In Your Hair
  6. Love Ya Like I Can
Marty Duda
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