SCOTT KELLY

John Baizley
The Civic Hotel
Saturday, February 4, 2012

There is great strength in honesty. Scott Kelly, the man at the core of experimental outfit Neurosis, knows this. After spending more than 25 years behind his namesake outfit, he finally made his way to Australia – but not in the way initially imagined. Standing solitary, with only his voice and his guitar as his tools, his debut tour was on the back of his solo material. Joined by Baroness frontman John Baizley for his first foray into live acoustic territory ever, the intimacy of this performance was rare to behold. Beautiful and brutally simplistic – such an introduction to Kelly’s personal style was perfect, in every sense of the word.
A fresh insight into the man behind Georgian progressive metallers Baroness, the waiver in John Baizley’s voice showed nerves ran high for his debut solo performance on Australian soil. With Perth marking his first stop, the apprehension literally melted away as he became more comfortable behind the guitar. His strumming, taking on more fluid fingerpicking tones, added rich accents to well-known Baroness tunes Steel That Sleeps The Eye and Swollen And Halo. Stopping for a moment to acknowledge the man that brought him here, as was needed, he let loose towards the end – swapping to an electric guitar for his final two songs.
A certain reverence fell over the crowd when Scott Kelly took stage. Starting with no fanfare, his voice was commanding enough. Stripped back, a turn from Baizley’s previous slot, his strings resonated with each word sung. Although his presence should be revered, the unique balance between Kelly’s strength and vulnerability was intoxicating. With a set marked by heavy silence and rapturous applause, he scoured his way through a large backlog of material – spanning from 2001 solo release Spirit Bound Flesh to the more recent The Wake (2008), with a heavy dose of other projects in-between.
Touching on Blood And Time’s Remember Me and a potential new track from new supergroup formation Shrinebuilder – of which Kelly is a member – he also bridged material from an up-and-coming solo album. This included his first ever love song, which was backed by Baizley. Raw and biting, the grit and grime of his past adding depth to a career that will be remembered for ages to come.

_JESSICA WILLOUGHBY