<< Front page Arts April 23, 2004

The Waifs rock Finney Chapel
Aussie pop-folk band gives their Oberlin debut

Far from home: The Waifs bring Australian charm to Finney Chapel Saturday night.
 

Finney Chapel last Saturday featured Oberlin’s Jug Band opening for the far-from-home Waifs. Jug Free America, ubiquitously known on campus as the Jug Band, is a septet of seniors who can beat the hell out of a wide range of instruments. Skilled musicianship on guitar, drums and trumpet is backed up by equal ability on the more colloquial washboard, gutbucket, kazoo and jug. The group made an excellent introduction to the Waifs, playing tunes fit for the folk festival circuit, where both bands make their home. The repertoire of the fabulous juggers was a good mix of the original and the traditional, with some Bob Marley topping it off. The biggest weak point of Jug Free America was that as an opener, they were more solid than the main act. Concert attendants looked very proud to have their own home grown folkies on a real stage, and while this was the author’s first time going to a Jug Band concert sober, they did not disappoint in this medium.

Australian pop-folk act the Waifs were off to a good start with a small but very welcoming crowd. Countless gigs at college campuses and small venues as well as a tour last year with Bob Dylan have built up a good-sized following for these foreign indies. Artful guitar and wailing harmonica backed up all three solo vocalists, though the radiantly pregnant Vikki Simpson took center stage for most of the show. Vikki, her sister Donna and other guy Josh Cunningham sang about trains, hometowns and the exhaustion of being on the road. This exhaustion was apparent, as the group was less energetic than when fronting for Dylan and took much of their performance time telling stories about their run-ins with American culture and about life back home. Despite seeming to be cramped at Finney after being free and loose in large stadiums with Dylan, the Waifs were charismatic and put on a diverse and entertaining show.


 
 
   

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