Jack Davies & The Bush Chooks: A Vivid & Anecdotal Set At OAF

‘Jack Davies & The Bush Chooks: An Emotional & Reflective Set At OAF’ is a review of the Jack Davies & The Bush Chooks show at Oxford Art Factory on 8 May. 

As my friend and I emerged from one of the Indian diners on Oxford Street, we traversed the bike lane under construction and found our way into the Oxford Art Factory. My friend had already seen Jack Davies & The Bush Chooks four times at various shows in Sydney, and had high praise for his live performance chops.

I had been listening to Davies after hearing one of his songs on the radio and really liking it. I was a fan of the warm, reflective and relatable folk style of his music.

We filed our way past the secondary space at the OAF, where a punk band was due to play, and made our way into the primary venue. A modest crowd had already trickled in, with a communal, friendly energy you’d associate with friends supporting a local band rather than a Fremantle-based headliner playing in Sydney. Jackets were strewn across handrails as it was much warmer inside than it was on Oxford Street.

We stood ourselves on the balcony to watch Beryl, the first opener. The two-piece were positioned under red light, one member with voice and guitar, the other with a variety of wind instruments and occasional vocal harmonies. Their emotional and reflective setlist was lightened with ironic references to how ‘uplifting’ the lyrics were. 

Betty, the second opener, was a solo singer-songwriter accompanied by two friends, one on a guitar and the other providing back-up vocals. The music was soulful and the dual fingerpicking of Betty and the second guitarist created a nice jangling effect.

The support acts were finished and my friend and I migrated down to the main standing area to get amongst the action. The crowd were generally on the younger side, I’d estimate an average age of mid-20s, like Davies himself. Observers had crowded the balcony behind us, leaning over the railing and backlit by a subtle purple light.

Davies emerged on stage, playing the first song solo, and the second with only one other member of the band. The remaining three members of the Bush Chooks then appeared on stage, totalling two on guitar, one on bass, one on drums and a violinist. We could hear rumbles of the punk band next door in the secondary performance space, which Davies jokingly made reference to before carrying on.

Davies’ storytelling and frankness was the foundation of the set. The first song as a band, Cleaning the Dishes, would resonate with anyone who’s spent time living in a share house. The second track, Penguin would spell nostalgia for fans of David Attenborough’s narration of wildlife documentaries.

Throughout the set Davies would drift from vivid anecdotal tracks, to more metaphorical and abstract ones like Orange Peel. Songs were interspersed with Davies discussing the context behind them and motivation for their writing.

Toward the end of the show, the band broke into Inner City Lights, a personal highlight of mine of the whole set, as I’d been listening to it on repeat for a week prior and find it a particularly beautiful song. I especially noticed the drums in this one, which were driving but controlled.

Following the set, requests for “one more song” were accepted by Davies, who did however stress that the band had wine and half a pizza to attend to afterwards. The first song of the encore, Bunnings Gift Card, already a vivid narrative, was nicely riddled with additional anecdotes and line-explainers from Davies. 

After a second encore song the show was over, as the lights came on and the venue’s playlist resumed over the speakers. I went to the bathroom, bought a t-shirt on the way out, and my friend and I walked down towards Hyde Park, passing by the Jack Davies fans strewn across the footpath smoking cigarettes.

I came away feeling that Jack Davies is a tremendously engaging frontman. He’s a great storyteller with impressive guitar skills, and has a band of musicians that play together excellently. I’ll be keeping an eye out for what he does next.