Nostalgia time and here's a band that I saw live more than any other, and who have created music that still stirs emotions like no other: The Tea Party.
The Tea Party, one of many amazing bands out of Canada, have found a spiritual home in Australia as much as their rabid fanbase here have almost adopted them as our own. Indiciatively I never saw the band in a major venue like The Hordern Pavillion. I always saw them in small venues like Leagues clubs and the like, because the band, when doing a major tour of large venues, would often venture off the beaten track to places like The Central Coast of NSW, or Newcastle, and play smaller shows to between 200 to 500 people. Indeed, some of these shows were among the wildest shows I've ever seen. From the crowds going nuts to long, extended versions of their songs, their live shows are some of my most treasured memories.
The band have taken a lot of flak for what critics perceive as their slavish copying of both Led Zeppelin and the Doors. But in fact they sound nothing like either of them, despite lead singer Jeff Martin having a haircut like Jim Morrison, and sometimes using a violin bow on his Les Paul.
The band split circa 2005 but reformed in 2012 for an Australian tour and a live album. The live album kicks some serious butt and is almost like being there, without the crowds...or the actual band being on stage in front of you. The only real issue I have is that the audience noise wasn't continuous throughout the entire record. Rather it is faded out to silence at the end of each track, but this is a minor quibble. The music is amazing.
Check it out below.
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