Review by Andrea Royston

In recent weeks there have been various events organised by all sorts of members of our community to raise funds for those affected by the devastating bushfires across Australia. Everyone is coming together in true Australian style to show their support to all of those affected. Everyone wants to do their part.

Last week a group of local musicians announced that they would be coming together to help in this awful time. Music has the power to bring people together during tough times and to heal, so what better than to do this with 100% of proceeds going towards The Australian Red Cross, Fire Relief Fund For First Nations Communities and Wildlife Victoria.

On Thursday night The Teskey Brothers along with Grace Cummings, Cash Savage and The Last Drinks put on a sensational performance at The Thornbury Theatre. The historic attraction was packed to the rafters with older, younger and anywhere in-between.

Last week The Teskey Brothers’ Brendan Love said, “people are really coming together to help in this awful time for our communities, we want to do whatever we can to help. Our hearts are with anyone who has been affected by the fires and to all those who have worked tirelessly to assist.”

Fans acted promptly to the big announcement which saw tickets to this beauty sell out within just one hour! The Teskey’s started up a GoFundMe page for those who couldn’t make the show but wanted to help. Funds reached $3600 on Friday afternoon.

There were plenty of smiles and plenty more dancing throughout the night, but at times you would catch a glimpse of the audience with a sombre look on their faces. It was clear that despite all of the fun that was going on, all in attendance had in their minds the awful things that are currently happening in our beautiful country.

Guests were greeted at the doors by CFA volunteers who were collecting donations. Guests were quick to reach into their pockets to drop coins and notes into the collection buckets. 

Grace Cummings was the night opener. This powerfully voiced folk singer delivered a strong act and introduced the crowd to what was about to become a entertaining evening with a meaningful message. 

Once Grace’s short but sweet set came to an end, next up was Cash Savage and The Last Drinks. These guys have been playing to crowds since 2009. This was clear by their quality stage presence and talent. 

Last, but most definitely not least, were Melbourne’s much adored humans from Warrandyte, The Teskey Brothers. The volume coming from the audience increased instantly when they spotted four figures making their way onto the stage and over to their instruments. 

There is something very special about this band, more than possibly a few special things. One of these things being their glow of authenticity when they interact with their audience. Lead singer, Josh Teskey, in particular has such an effect on his crowd. After seeing these guys perform a number of times over the years, I would almost label it his ‘signature stance’ when he stands there with his hand over his heart as he interacts with his audience. You can feel the truth in his words and the way the band connects with their fans is very sincere.

These guys have been around for just over a decade now and they have already created a unique collection of music. Their most recent album, Run Home Slow, released last year, was nominated for Best Album at the ARIAS and won the band two ARIA’s for Best Group and Best Blues & Roots Album. Lead guitarist, Sam Teskey, also won Engineer Of The Year for his work on the album. Not to mention their success in the US and across Europe, it is fair to say that this Melbourne band is taking the world by storm. 

The songs for the evening comprised mainly of numbers off their second album, Run Home Slow. These songs included the soulful tune, ‘Paint My Heart’, slower number ‘San Francisco’ and obvious crowd pleaser, ‘Let Me Let You Down’. For anyone who has taken the opportunity to see The Teskey Brothers live would vouch for their raw talent and impeccable vocal and instrumental abilities. For those who haven’t, I would highly recommend that you do so in the future. Lead singer, Josh Teskey, loves to give his vocal cords a good run and never fails to treat the audience to a demonstration of his exceptional vocal abilities. This is seen through the extended vocals to various songs such as, ‘Let Me Let You Down’ and, ‘I Get Up’ where he reaches insane notes. This really got the crowd excited and loudly applauding his work. 

Another thing that fans have noticed over the years at their live gigs is the extended performance of ‘Louisa’, a track off their first album, Half Mile Harvest. Fans immediately start clapping to the beat and continue to do so throughout the song. The harmonica in this song highlights and compliments their Blues capabilities. Upon what we believed was the conclusion, the band took a moment to briefly remind the audience why we were all there and thanked their fans for their contributions. Immediately after, they jammed straight back into the groove that is ‘Louisa’.

This concluded the main act for the evening. Like at all of their gigs, an Encore was to be had! The boys left the stage for a short time and returned dressed in the CFA uniform. They invited their friends and CFA Volunteers up on the stage to join them in their finale, and appropriate song, ‘Hold Me’. The crowd really came together for this one and sung along loudly. At one point they were led down to a soft whisper of the chorus which was sung perfectly in unison a few times.

The Teskey Brothers are about to embark on a European and American tour that is due to conclude in October this year. So, unfortunately for Aussie fans, we probably won’t get to see them for quite some time. 

The band announced on Friday that they would keep their GoFundMe page up and running for a few more days. For those who wish to donate you can do so at gf.me/u/xa74yp.