Mike McClellan: Songs And Stories From A Modern-Day Troubadour – Adelaide Fringe Review

Church Of The Trinity, Fri 23 Feb. [MUSIC/ACOUSTIC – VIC] Mike McClellan is a modern-day troubadour, with a long history of several hit songs and tours across this wide land – and a few others (including the US) – to his credit, including quite recently. He has worked outside of music, hosted a music talk show on the ABC and he knows a lot of people, first hand. Spinning a great story comes naturally, both as introductions and as songs. The two sets contain a mixture of new songs as well as some oldies, including several hit songs from the back catalogue and the occasional cover song, often introduced with a twinkle and a story about his meeting or friendship with said artist. This pattern also had a couple of twists; introducing a number of his songs that have been recorded by other artists (including Ricky Nelson). In terms of songs, as well as enjoying the older hits and the lyrical writing, his relatively new song, Gruch, is a tribute to Adelaide based, now passed, Bryan DeGruchy was the show stealer for me; a gorgeous heart-felt ballad to the man and his guitars (two of Mike’s three DeGruchys were on stage). Mike’s voice stands up to the test of time, his guitar playing is solid picked folk acoustic, he has chops, but only for the service of the song at hand, and his songwriting shows no sign of waning. While his hits may have been decades ago, the new songs are alive, lyrical and well worth a listen. As for the advertised 100 minutes of gig – it was well over two hours (including intermission) of lyrical melody – a joy! 4 stars Clayton Werner Mike McClellan (In Concert) continues at HAT’s Courthouse Cultural Centre, Auburn, from 8pm on Sat 24 Feb. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. #ADLfringe