Duckpond
House Concert No. 15
Suzannah Espie & Ian Collard
24 August 2013
For the
second house concert in a row we welcomed a married couple to the Duckpond,
this time it was Suzannah Espie & Ian Collard. Although they did a tour
together a few years ago,
Suzannah & Ian, who are both well respected musicians/singers/songwriters
in their own right,
rarely get to perform together these days. So, we were delighted to hear that
one of those
rare occasions would be here at the Duckpond.
There's always quite a 'buzz' before the music begins. Family catchups, old
friends, new friends
coming together for yet one more Duckpond House Concert.
Share plates brought by the audience display a variety of healthy snacks and
NOT so healthy snacks.
Next time I'll get a photo of Tim's giant bowl of chocolate and liquorice
temptations!
Ian is certainly no stranger to the Duckpond, as he has played here twice
before, with the
ARIA award winning band Collard Greens & Gravy. On those occasions the
band was amplified,
but I was delighted that he wanted to play 'unplugged' this time.
With Ian playing the first solo set, Suzannah had the opportunity to join
the rest of the audience
to watch his performance, as well as trying the wine.
You won't hear much better than Ian with his harmonica. He has a large collection
in his little case and demonstrated just what happens if he selects the wrong
one!
To listen to some of Ian's music, go to the website at www.collardgreensandgravy.com
Then Ian was able to take a break while Suzannah, who was named Artist Of
The Year
at this year's Port Fairy Folk Festival, played a solo set. She has a clear,
gently lilting voice
and Jonni was delighted to hear some of his favourite songs live once again,
this time without
the hum of background pub noise. To find out more about Suzannah and her music,
go to her website at www.suzannahespie.com.au
Then it was time for Ian and Suzannah to play a set together. Jonni &
I have never seen them
play together before, and we were most impressed with the refreshingly spontaneous
set.
It is a great pity that they don't sing together very often, as they are such
a good combo.
Having separate successful careers in different musical spheres would make
it difficult I suppose.