CHEVRON GARDENS REVIEW: The Preatures Unplugged with Abbe May
Chevron Gardens is such a delightful venue, and the contemporary music program for this year's Perth Festival has provided some real gems. Among the stellar line-up this year was Melbourne indie rock band The Preatures.
Supported by Perth queen of rock Abbe May, they brought to the stage an ‘unplugged’ set of old favourites and new tunes.
Izzie Manfredi started the night by warning that they would be doing things a bit differently to normal. They usually play with their seventies rock aesthetic a bit more, using the stage and synths the crowd would desire. On this night, the difference wasn’t restricted to Izzie simply sitting down instead of roaming restlessly about the stage. This was a night of storytelling in which Izzie bared her soul.
Every song in their repertoire, it seems, has a story. These were primarily recounted by Izzie, who is emerging as one of our best social commentators alongside her songwriting talents.
The story behind ‘I Know A Girl’ reveals some of the behind-the-scenes drama, and was one of the few other band members pitched in on. That Manfredi is Italian — with the requisite Italian temper — became a running joke throughout the evening. It culminated in a retelling of her business-like approach to the ending of an intense personal relationship, none other than the inspiration behind ‘Business, Yeah’.
She particularly sold the idea the she was in fact not a confident person. Then, the bright-eyed vocalist proceeded to sit at the keyboard and sing solo for three tracks, before Jack Manfredi returned for a beautiful rendition of new track ‘Shangri La’.
The best part? Knowing how and why these songs were written truly added an extra depth to the already wonderful night.
To get more of an insight into The Preatures’ songwriting process, read our interview with Jack Moffitt from earlier on this year.