Fred Smith has a whole world of experience to draw upon when he writes a song.
He has spent much of his life travelling and living in dangerous places, during periods of serious political and social unrest, and has often been confronted by tragedy.
His time in Afghanistan, working as a diplomat and living amongst our military personnel based there, has generally been well-documented and is the source material for his most well-known songs. This has meant – in his own words – that he is, along with his contemporaries John Schumann and Eric Bogle, only ‘famous once a year’ when they are regularly invited to perform at Anzac Day ceremonies. Said in jest, but sadly with some truth to the statement, this highlights the way folk musicians have become marginalised in the music industry and denied a deservedly broader audience through greater representation in our mainstream media.
For this year’s Adelaide Fringe show, however, Smith has moved away from ‘songs about war and death’ and focused his sharp observational eye more closely on the ‘domestic frontier’, a theatre of conflict through which he has only been slowly learning to navigate his way successfully.
On the strength of the wonderful songs in this show perhaps he should now finally be on the path to year round recognition and much greater success.
Domesticity features songs selected from across Smith’s broad catalogue and collectively they cover subjects like marriage, mortgages, parenthood and the inevitability of eventually having to deal with ageing family members. He excels in his use of the every day mundane details of life to spark recognition and understanding in his audience before often delivering quite profound messages. Issues are tackled with a raw honesty in these songs but, often, the confronting impact of the serious subject matter is softened by Smith’s deft employment of playful and appealing humour.
Smith possesses a gentle voice, and he conveys his wry insights in a half spoken, half sung delivery, reminiscent of another sharply eloquent Australian songwriter, Robert Forster. He favours rhyme in his lyrics, and whilst some of his rhymes initially may seem a little simplistic, they are often the precursor to more original, and startlingly effective lexical choices later in the songs. In other words, he is a very clever lyricist who knows how to invite an audience quickly into his songs and deliver his key messages precisely but without any over intellectualising.
For this show, local singer Jen Lush and her talented band provided Smith’s performance with a consistently tasteful and sympathetic musical foundation that allowed the songs to shine brightly. Lush, an accomplished local singer with a number of album releases to her name, has a beautifully clear voice and her harmonies blended wonderfully with Smith’s often laconic singing style. Their duet on ‘All Alone‘, a song about the slow disintegration of a rock star’s marriage, was particularly sublime. Guitarist Sam Cagney, bassist Mark Seddon and drummer and keyboard player, Paul Angas, were all remarkably on the money throughout – especially considering that this performance was actually the first time they had run through the songs together in full.
The songs chosen to fit the show’s theme were diverse in content and style. Some were affectionately funny, such as ‘7 Ways (To Pass The Time Of Day)’, a song about how Smith spent his time as a ‘trailing spouse’ while his wife was posted to work for our Government in Washington DC. Some were incredibly poignant, such as ‘Heart Work’, which detailed the love and care people selflessly provide for the aged during their final days. Some were tributes to people Smith admired – a celebration of Helen Garner’s life and work in ‘Hel’ drew rousing applause from The Wheaty crowd, as did an appreciation of the work of Leonard Cohen in the song ‘Lenny‘, and the heartfelt eulogy for his departed friend, folkie John Thompson, in ‘Sweet Ever After’. A number of others were disarmingly frank songs to his partner, Maryanne, detailing the depth of his love and admiration for her.
Smith’s calm ease in front of his audience, even when dealing with the constant roar of jets coming in low as they headed for the airport, was impressive and he provided fascinating and context for each of his songs.
Domesticity is a show highlighting a distinctly Australian songwriter at the very top of his game. His songs are full of imagery and situations which may mirror some of your own life experiences and subsequently may trigger some strong cathartic emotional responses – but that is an effect only the very best songwriters can achieve.
Fred Smith has only one more show scheduled for this year’s Fringe – Friday March 1, at The Wheaty.
It deserves a full house.