Xavier Rudd, Maximillian @ Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide 18/8/2018
One of the best things about live music is going to see an artist you know is great but then discovering someone just as talented you’ve never heard of…. Maximillian strolled out to entertain the building Thebarton theatre masses, there on stage just one man and his Brazilian seven string guitar, the eager crowd mostly wondering what they were about to experience… Now I looked for Maximillian and his footprint online, I find a band from the 1970’s and Google has me lost in meanings of the name, I’m a little bewildered as to how such a sublimely talented artist is almost impossible to track down, so I’m asking around, where is Maximilian from and where did Xavier find him? Well it’s pretty simple, he’s Xavier’s little bro!!
Stepping out of the shadows of such an enigmatic performer as your brother must be a hard task, but his clean crisp classic steel string vibes seemed to float off stage, the crowd absorbing the positive energy when Maximillian blessed us by letting us know in him “you’ve got a friend” covering the popular toy story classic you’ve got a friend in me and getting a great reception from a steadily building crowd.
It sounded simple ( but it isn’t) and strong tracks like Waiting so long from his debut self-titled release Maximillian is heart felt and meshed well with the instrumental moments, it was a thoroughly chilled warm up for the main event.
When Xavier Rudd and band arrived on stage the crowd erupts. No doubt many of the crowd rate this man is one of their favourite artists, such a talent, with the ability to transform sounds from chilled guitar solo stomp box that’s engaging the thousand plus crowd with classic songs like Follow The Sun and Spirit Bird and then diving into frenetic moments with a full band letting loose, rocking out and jamming, creating a cacophony of energy and positivity.
Some punters grooved, and some stood and stared, but they were all mezmerised by the charismatic performer and his band, A man with a message they also hung on every word in the quieter moments. The crowd was joyous and lapped up the singer’s heartfelt banter as much as the great tunes.
With a career spanning twenty odd years now, Xavier has developed his own unique sound in a genre we’re standing out amongst the crowd can be challenging. He has drawn a vast audience from all walks of life and continually keeps things fresh. He brings both the yin and the yang to stage with a diverse set of tracks that flowed together perfectly.
A polished performance that left the crowd wanting more with new tracks like Walk Away showing that there’s no stopping this man on a mission to spread the good vibes with his sweet tunes. It was the kind of show that continually had moments that were as unexpected as they were awesome.
Live Review By Peter Young