On Tuesday night, I hit the Governor Hindmarsh to hear one of my favourite bands play for the 5th time! The Waifs formed in the early 90's when Donna and Viki Simpson hopped in a camper van with a couple of guitars and started playing pubs up the west coast of Australia, going by the name of 'Colours'. They reached the Kimberly and met Josh Cunningham, who knew a thing or two about music, so they squished up in the van and Josh joined them on the road, thus forming 'The Waifs'.
Nearly 20 years, several studio albums, a couple of live albums, a swag of singles, 3.5 children, a move to the USA and a couple of Arias for good measure and the Waifs still pack a punch.
I was worried that the gig would be a bit lacking. I thought that after living apart for so long as well as the vastly different directions their lives have taken (Viki is expecting her third child, Donna has struggled with substance abuse and had a stint in rehab and Josh has recently married as well as becoming a Christian), that they might have lost some of that old spark. Thankfully, I was wrong! They opened with a couple of slow bluesy songs, keeping the crowd fairly subdued initially. Things revved up when they belted out their very popular singles 'Lighthouse' and 'London Still'. Viki teased the crowd with her harp skills in 'Fisherman's Daughter', letting us all believe that they might just launch into 'Crazy Train', a crowd pleasing favourite. Unfortunately, it was not to be. They did however, bless us with one short encore before heading backstage and letting the lights brighten and the house music cued the crowd to shuffle out.
Josh shared some of his new found faith with a couple of strong gospel themed songs. The girls backed him up beautifully. As a special treat, he sang part of Gillian, apparently one of the first songs he ever wrote. I thought Josh was a bit quieter than usual this time round, but what he did contribute was perfect. I think his latest songs are his best work, maybe because they're coming from such an intense source.
Donna's voice was the main centerpiece for the opening track, belting out in her iconic bluesy tone. She's an extremely honest performer, telling us a rather sad story about a sweet love song on the new album, "The guy left 2 weeks after I sang that to him, must have been a bit too much!" She also told us, when someone requested 'Haircut', that she "don't do that song no more". Sounds like she's had a rough trot of late, but she gets my utmost respect for keeping on for the sake of her fans.
I confess, Viki Thorn is my favourite Waif! She's got a brilliant versatile voice and her harmonica skills are mind blowing! I love her banter with the band and the audience. She's the kind of girl I can imagine having a drink and a great laugh with. And any woman who waddles onto stage 6 months pregnant night after night has my full respect. That baby will be born tapping it's toes!
It was a different energy to the other 4 Waifs gigs I have been to, but it was an energy none the less. A little voice inside tells me that we might not see too much more of the Waifs, given their different directions and changing circumstances (although they said on Facebook that this isn't goodbye!). It would be sad if that is the case, but at the same time, they've contributed so much to the Australian folk scene. They are and always will be up the top of my list!
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