The Redgum Years
Published: February 19, 2021
The weekend of February 20 and 21 sees the launch of The Redgum Years, a retrospective of some of the songs that booted Redgum, the band, onto the world forum of socio/political observation and comment through popular music.
Not a tribute and not a Redgum rebirth, The Redgum Years, fronted by by iconic singer-songwriter John Schumann and backed by his loyal (more then 10 years of loyalty by now) and accomplished comrades in music The Vagabond Crew, is a retelling and in some cases an updating of some of Schumann’s favoured material from the heady Redgum years of the late 70s through the 80s.
Lawson, Schumann’s sympathetic musical accompaniment to the poems of Henry written and recorded some two decades ago, recently enjoyed a similar and successful treatment by Schumann and the Vagabond Crew in a format whereby the band does not meticulously reproduce the original recordings but performs them ‘in the spirit’, as the saying goes, allowing a little latitude for individual musical and vocal expression; giving the songs a new dimension in the live performance forum.
The Redgum Years is performed in a similar manner, with respect, pathos and humour, as they are some of the essential elements of many Redgum social and political commentaries; some of the observations biting, some amusing, some introspective, and always with Shooey, well-travelled and dry raconteur that he is, sketching out the lines of the songs to be later filled in by the Vagabonds.
In a stroke of good fortune for some but not for others the two shows, to be presented at the Gov as part of the Adelaide Fringe 2021 pageant, have been sold out, although I believe there are some individual walk-ups available for the Sunday session if you feel like trying your luck. Maybe call The Gov first! And maybe, if the Covid world allows, the Redgum Years may hit the road later in 2021, maybe 2022 — virus dependent — and provide other opportunities to hear some fabulous and often meaningful Redgum songs. And some of the droll ones.