The Miltones – Tuning Fork July 22, 2017

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The Miltones wrapped up their album release tour in front of a hometown crowd at Auckland’s Tuning Fork. And what a crowd it was…they showed up early and in large numbers making for a very special evening.

I don’t think anyone was expecting the number of fans that came out to see the band…certainly not front person Milly Tabak who seemed genuinely surprised by the impressive turnout. Not only was it a big crowd, but they were young and seemed to know the band’s music inside-out, singing along to most of the songs.

The entertainment began with Miller Yule serving up a solo set. This young man just keeps getting better and better, and while the folks at the rear of the Tuning Fork were talking among themselves, those up front were respectful and listened.

This final show of their tour was a full band affair for The Miltones so Milly (acoustic guitar & vocals) was joined by long-time guitarist Liam Pratt, keyboard and trumpet player Guy Harrison, bassist Chris Marshall and Adam Tobeck on drums.

The quartet took the stage just after 9pm with Pratt playing a bluesy intro and Harrison laying down a jazzy keyboard line before launching in to Firing Way.

The crowd was cheering from the beginning and that energy was reflected back by Milly who really knows how to put on a show.

This is a woman who isn’t afraid to take charge of the stage and keep the audience engaged and a lot of fellow Kiwi musicians would be wise to check out her stage persona and adjust accordingly. There’s nothing wrong with making an effort and looking like you’re having fun, which Milly did throughout the set.

Her performance didn’t take anything away from the music, in fact it enhanced it. Pratt and Harrison are excellent musicians and their solos were consistently thrilling. Guy Harrison proved to be quite the showman himself, his long hair flying about as he dug into his keyboards.

Comparisons to Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac are hard to avoid when listening to The Miltones, especially with Miily’s voice sounding so much like Stevie Nicks (with a hint of Rickie Lee Jones thrown in) but fortunately the band has the songs to establish their own identity.

They performed all but one track from their Ben Edwards-produced debut album with highlights including the gospel-tinged Glory, the ballad, Carlos, dedicated to Milly’s father and Devils Falling, which began as a smouldering jazz tune then suddenly amped up into a rocker, featuring a crowd-pleasing trumpet solo from Harrison.

Milly took up her harmonica for a workout on Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love, then finished the set with Dancing With The Dead.

But the crowd was even more hopped up now than at the beginning of the show and calls for an encore were immediate and insistent.

The band quickly returned to perform a couple of fan favourites, Gypsy Queen (The Miltones at their most Fleetwood Mac-ish) and Bleeding Blue, which contained a musical tip o’ the hat to Steely Dan.

An hour and ten minutes after it started it was all over, but the energy was still in the room, with fans buzzing, eager to crowd around the merch table and hang with the band.

The evening was pure joy from beginning to end.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Ivan Karczewski:

The Miltones set list:

  1. Firing Way
  2. Glory
  3. Carlos
  4. The Wanderer
  5. Pursed Lips
  6. Wildfire
  7. What’s Your Agenda?
  8. Devils Falling
  9. Mother’s Ruin
  10. Song For A Friend
  11. Bye Bye Baby
  12. Who Do You Love
  13. Dancing With The Dead
  14. Gypsy Queen
  15. Bleeding Blue

 

 

Marty Duda
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