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John Butler TrioDen Atelier, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
30th October 2018
John Butler Trio

Anyone who has ever seen the JOHN BUTLER TRIO live knows that their shows are energetic, passionate and unique adventures. The three Australians love passion, music and life. This time they were in the sold out Atelier and presented their seventh album, ‘Home’. It was actually the best thing to do on this rainy autumn day.

The JOHN BUTLER TRIO is an Australian Roots / Rock band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, an APRA and ARIA-award-winning musician. They formed in Fremantle in 1998 with Jason McGann on drums and Gavin Shoesmith on bass. By 2009, the trio consisted of Butler with Byron Luiters on bass and Nicky Bomba on drums and percussion, the latter being replaced by Grant Gerathy in 2013. The band’s second studio album, ‘Three’ (2001), reached the top 30 in the Australian album charts and achieved platinum sales. The band’s subsequent studio albums; ‘Sunrise Over Sea (2004), ‘Grand National’ (2007) and ‘April Uprising’ (2010), all debuted at the number one position on the Australian album charts, with all three albums reaching platinum sales status. ‘Living 2001-2002’ (2003), the band’s first live album, reached the top ten and also achieved platinum status in Australia. The band’s second live album, ‘Live at St. Gallen’ (2005), also achieved gold record status. The band’s releases since 2002 have been marketed independently by Jarrah Records, which Butler co-owns with West Australian folk band THE WAIFS and manager of both acts, Philip Stevens. Their latest studio album, ‘Home’, was released in September 2018.

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Music & Performance
John Butler and his current musical partners Nicky Bomba and Byron Luiters are touring though Europe to support their seventh studio album - after four years - ‘Home’, and it’s clear from that the fans are ready for some new material. The JOHN BUTLER TRIO took over the stage at 9 pm and played old and new hits, starting the set with ‘Wade in the Water’ which is a more laid-back bluesy song with some nice guitar fretwork throughout. Bluesier guitar work accompanies the entrancing percussive beat that underpins ‘Just Call’ an aching plea of friendship. It should be noted that this band is one of the few groups whose live music sounds much more alive than on any album. This spirit and this atmosphere in the air can’t be captured. After about half of the setlist it was the highlight. The rest of the band departs and John Butler sits with a twelve string acoustic guitar, slowly beginning the next song ‘Revolution’. Fans with a trained eye know immediately what follows next, ‘Ocean’. The crowd is amazed and excited when the composition ebbs and flows before sweeping to its majestic end.

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With a length of almost fifteen minutes, the crowd is in deep awe of the magnitude and the complexity; they've all just experienced something very special and beautiful and the comedown is quite awkward. This song, which John Butler has been playing for over 15 years, never sounds the same. However, the good times are never far away and the last track of the encore, ‘Zebra’, leads us back to the roots of the brilliant third album, ‘Sunrise Over Sea’. The crowd jumps and crowns a glorious return for the man from Fremantle.

Setlist
01. Wade in the Water
02. Just Call
03. Betterman
04. Miss Your Love
05. Running Away
06. Better Than
07. Only One
08. Faith
09. Blame It On Me
10. Pickapart
11. Revolution
12. Ocean
13. Ragged Mile
14. Home
15. Don’t Wanna See Your Face
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16. We Want More
17. Zebra

Rating
Music 8
Performance 7
Light 7
Sound 8
Total 7.5 /10

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All Pictures by Elena Arens

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