Review: The Teskey Brothers – Live at the Forum
Thankfully I finally took notice of my “Themed Tunes” co-host Steve constantly going on about how wonderful The Teskey Brothers are. After recording a show a few weeks back I went on YouTube and watched them play the song “Hold Me” (see below) from the ‘Live at the Forum’ album.
Now those of you who listen to the Themed Tunes podcast will know I have eclectic music tastes and I am one of those ‘seat-of-your-pants’ women. I instantly like something – however, it’s rare indeed I REALLY like something enough to purchase all of that band’s music.
I am now the proud owner of 3 Teskey Brothers CD’s (old school…bugger downloads).
The two brothers – Sam (lead guitar) and Josh (vocals and rhythm guitar) Teskey have been playing together since they were young. Brendon Love (bass) and Liam Gough (drums) make up the band and have been jamming since they were teenagers.
They are no overnight sensation, formed in 2008 they all hail from Warrandyte in Melbourne and all had regular jobs up until very recently (Josh was known as the singing plumber).
Having released two studio albums, this live album was recorded on ANALOGUE tape (huh?) at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne across a run of four sold-out shows last November, ‘Live At The Forum’ (Ivy League Records) and contains a mix of songs from The Teskey Brothers two studio albums, 2017’s ‘Half Mile Harvest’ and 2019’s ‘Run Home Slow’, plus a version of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy (which is the only song on the album I’m not too keen on).
How can I explain the pull of this band? Their sound, deep rooted Bluesy soul mixed with a little bit of country and some old southern rock could be run-of-the-mill, heard it all before. Even Josh’s vocals can be reminiscent of any great gutsy soul singer in the vein of Otis Redding/ Joe Cocker/Janis Joplin, but there is something truly magical about them when they play.
They have obviously had years of practice and fit together perfectly, and their songs are GOOD. Planted in the past but ultimately of this time, of all time, endless heartache and trouble.
Then there is this voice. Josh Teskey has a tone in him, his mojo that rips my heart out. I don’t mind admitting that my knickers become loose hearing him sing Say You’ll Do. That yearning in the way he sings and the slow hand of the drums move it along with a gutsy guitar that lightly runs its fingers all over you.
They give me the shivers. And every single song touches you in a way that is… unexpected. But what they do in spades is… make you FEEL it.
‘Live at the Forum’ opens with a lot of subtle crowd cheering and into Let Me Let You Down and it’s apparent that all their songs sound amazing live, I instantly knew that this was going to be a ‘I feel like I’m there’ sort of album, and I did!
The addition of the ‘live’ organ and trumpet give the band some solid depth and show off their versatility, especially on the knicker-dropper Say You’ll Do – this is a song written to be performed live. The album closes with a rousing audience participation acapella version of Hold Me which couldn’t be more perfect if it tried, I was filling up.
This album truly gives you a genuine insight into just how good this band is, a group that have spent years perfecting their live shows and clearly love performing together. I honestly hope they come to the UK because I will be right there! (let’s hope she wears a belt around her knickers! – Dave)
So this isn’t so much a review of Live at the Forum, but rather a whole band review. The album is fantastic and the band, well I think they have the potential to be one of the greats. I urge you to seek them out. You won’t be disappointed.
Review by Tina.
