I too went to this to Harry's performance at the Spiegeltent, and was on my way there with no idea what to expect. Being a fan of lyrics that come from somewhere outside the square, acoustic guitar and world music, I was extremely impressed with what this artist had to give to his audience. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a copy of the show's recording, directly after, and am still listening to it, thinking and absorbing over and over again.
Thanks mister Angus, you're onto something pretty damn amazing.

Yeah, It was a great gig! There's really not much info on Harry Angus' solo stuff on the net. But I found a site that has his lyrics - http://www.harryangus.com

It's good to read over them and remember the songs.

It sounds to me like you went to the show on the 24th (Friday night). The show on Saturday night was much better. He was more in tune and there were no technical problems.

I was sent the CD of these shows from the Spiegeltent by a lovely lady from the Cat Empire's management company, as an apology for a Cat Empire DVD boxset order being late. This music has changed my outlook on songwriting, and further enforced my belief in Australia as the coolest country in the world, with Melbourne, and St Kilda, at its epicentre. I live in the south of England here in the UK, and I feel so privileged to have been introduced to the music of Harry, thanks to my Aussie wife, a huge Cat Empire fan. I didn't know what to expect from this CD, but I was quite literally blown away the first time I heard it.

Harry's lyrical, lilting lyrics and delivery struck me from the first track, 'Daddy's Millions' - "But their Holden left the ro-o-o-o-oad a hundred k's outside of Be-e-e-ndigo, the radio played Mood Indigo, but Steven, he was dead...". These were exotic, foreign words and images to me, and I could see that Harry was dead set on celebrating the culture of his homeland, which I understand Australians have traditionally been somewhat ashamed of, for some reason. Harry makes Australia shine to me far better than the Aussie Tourist Board could ever do.

On first hearing the CD, I thought he must have had a session classical guitarist with him, or even two, given the complexity of the guitar lines, so I was stunned to finally come to the realisation that he was playing and singing all by himself, as I'd only known him as the phenomenal trumpet player he is, up to that point.

His light-hearted approach to the art of songwriting is so refreshing, when so many people take themselves (and life) so seriously (Chris Martin, hang your head in shame), as he sings on 'Introductions' "If you came to laugh, I hope that you laugh, and if you came to cry, well, here are some onions...", and all the while that perfect delivery, so focused on every note. I've read some people don't like Harry's singing, but I hear it in the same league as Bob Dylan, in his delivery, breath control, and focus, and Jeff Buckley, in terms of his improvisation and range. Sure, he might wobble around a few notes, but if you think that's an issue, you're missing the point, and you're quite frankly just not listening properly.

'Matty & Josie' is a cute love/hate song, displaying Harry's great characterisation and filmic eye for detail, not to mention his emotional descriptiveness ("She cried because she knew that she would love him until the end of time").

"My Boring Life" blew me away with its honesty ("I used to think that I could write a song to change the world, Now I think I couldn't give a sh*t"), confessional, intimate songwriting of the highest order, extolling the virtues of being ordinary, not to mention another beautiful, haunting melody.

Then came "The Batsman", and at this point on the CD, I actually stopped what I was doing (the dishwasher, if I remember rightly), and just sat down and listened. He jokes about trying to write an Aussie classic, but I think he succeeds, conjuring up the memories of many Aussie cricketing legends, while just being elusive enough not to name names, and in doing so gets to the heart of the Aussie psyche itself, "I've got a fire, a fire, a fire, a fi-i-i-i-i-i-re, You gotta have a fire in your pale blue eyes". At this point I knew I was hooked, and had to get my hands on all the info there was available about this album and this guy on the net, of which there ain't much, perhaps because only 200 of these CDs were released, according to the Cat Empire's management company, anyway.

And, in a way, I'm glad. Harry can remain my secret, my trump card to pull out and play and blow my friends away. I got married in Australia last July (honeymoon in Melbourne, of course), and I was amazed at how many of my wife's relatives who I played the CD to had never heard of the guy or his music, and every single one of them, old and young, were blown away. So I hope he doesn't get too much acclaim, and that it doesn't go to his head, and that he doesn't read this and get all big-headed, because Harry, we love you as you are. And I'm sure he knows quite well what he's doing, because with huge success comes huge record company pressure, something he's managed to avoid so far I think, being able to do various side projects, like the equally cool Jackson Jackson, which I discovered soon after this.

I could rave all day along about the other songs on the album, but you get the idea. This album, this concert, became the soundtrack to my wedding, my honeymoon, my little tour up the coast of Australia, and a big part of my life.

So, Australia, be proud. Harry Angus is your son.