Who: Busby Marou & Jordie Lane
Where: Joe’s Waterhole

Firstly – sorry this review is so late. I had done it a week or so ago but Nikki forced me go to Bigsound Live with her and I have only just recovered.

Qld boys making ripples

Thomas Busby and Jeremy Marou are Rockhampton boys that first started making ripples in 2009 when they won a Federal Government award, which assisted them in producing their first (self-titled) album. They can also add a Deadly Award and a Q Award to their growing list.  The boys also feature on the album ‘He Will Have His Way’ – The Songs of Neil and Tim Finn.

They have really gained popularity this year, with their song ‘Biding My Time’ featuring on the Triple J playlist. They also did a popular cover of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ on Triple J’s Like a Version. A listen to any of these songs and you will recognise the musical talent of this pair. These guys have now gone from ripples to waves.

• Biding My Time / Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – on

I managed to catch Busby Marou on the last gig of their recent tour. Wow I was totally unprepared for the crowd. The funny thing about Joe’s Waterhole is the mixed crowd that you sometimes get – and this gig was no exception. So if I can stereotype for a second (don’t get offended anyone, I have not got all night & this is just for the sake of imagination and scene setting), this crowd was a third Gympie Muster, a third Triple J types and a third a mix of everything else. The crowd mix is a good reflection of what a diverse impact on music Busby Marou have had in such a short space of time.

The Support Act – Jordie Lane

Jordie Lane © FunkyMuzic

Jordie Lane played support. I loved Jordie. He was funny, very funny. I loved his music, his voice, his presence. He sang about girls, travelling, love. I am still giggling about the fornicating dogs he sang about in his Vietnam song. When he sang ‘I Could Die Looking at You‘, the tears were welling in my eyes. My only grievance is that he did not play long enough! I can honestly tell you that Jordie is one of those people that you need to see live, he is totally enchanting, and was clearly humbled by the crowd response.

I was lucky enough to meet Jordie last week after Bigsound and have a chat with him. Lovely guy!

Here is an awesome cover by Jordie (& Jen Cloher) of MGMT’s ‘Electric Feel’ on triple j Like a Version:

• Jordie Lane on
• Jordie Lane – “I Could Die Looking At You” on

Jordie is touring with Jeff Lang – tour dates are on his website

Headliners – Busby Marou

Busby Marou were also humbled by the crowd response, and remarked when they came on stage that they thought this would be their best gig. It was packed, sold out in fact.

Busby Marou © FunkyMuzic

The crowd response obviously rubbed off on the boys. They began energetically with a full band, with a few of their upbeat tunes. Busby Marou are one of those lucky bands that can actually perform, yes that’s right, in real life they can sing and make music! Jeremy is quite a talented musician, playing a range of instruments throughout the show including guitar, harmonica & ukulele. Thomas’ voice is actually one of my all-time favorites, it’s amazing. The crowd was really getting into this gig, lots of people were singing all the words to all the songs which must have been great for the guys.

They had a few minor sound issues but took it all in their stride.

They lost the band for a while about half way through and played some of their more mellow tunes. This included a beautiful cover of Crowded House’s ‘Better Be Home Soon’. I really really loved their song ‘Moving On’. I had not heard it before but it grabbed me straight away – the sound and the lyrics.

The band came back and the guys finished off with a rocking drum solo, a few more upbeat songs, which included a new song and Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun’. For the last song Jordie Lane joined them on stage.

Wrap-Up

My favourite thing about Busby Marou though is their harmonies. Truly beautiful. I heard lots of positive comments after the gig about their harmonies and how they sound just like their album when they play live. Great feedback. They stuck around to have beers and chat afterwards as well. Keep it up fellas and you will go far.

Busby Marou © FunkyMuzic

I have to be honest here and I hope I do not insult anyone; this is obviously just my opinion. This was an incredibly hard review for me to write. I love ‘Biding My Time’ to the point I listen to it a couple of times a day, but I have not really listened to much more of their music. I went along expecting a lot of folky music, I had no idea that Busby Marou were so country influenced. I do not like country music much, never have. Some of the songs I did not like, and some I loved. In saying that, if I push past my own feelings on country music and truly sit on the fence so to speak, the songs were great and the boys are certainly great live. In fact, I would almost bet that if I listened to the whole album a couple of times I would most likely love all of it, it may even be enough to shake my indie/rock roots up a little bit.

Oh, and thanks to the guy in front of me, I have learnt the best bum slapping hoedown I have ever seen, I have been doing it ever since!!

Getting more of Busby Marou

• Busby Marou on
• Busby tour dates are on their website: http://busbymarou.com/
• triple j Like a Version – Girls Just Wanna have Fun

Biding My Time: