Positive review of The Boxer era Mark Seymour and the Undertow.

Author:  Linda Dunjey, X-Press Magazine.

Date: 18 May 2024 (published 30 May 2024).

Original URL: https://xpressmag.com.au/review-mark-seymour-and-the-undertow-at-the-charles-hotel/

Article Text

Mark Seymour and the Undertow at The Charles Hotel
w/ Toby Beard
Saturday, May 18, 2024

Aussie music legends Mark Seymour and the Undertow hit The Charles Hotel on Saturday night as they toured the country celebrating the release of their stunning new album The Boxer.

Opening the show was another musical legend, Toby Beard and her band (sans drummer this time). Passionate and fierce, Beard made every word, every strike of her guitar and every facial expression count, and her very talented band was completely in sync with her.

With 10 albums and two decades worth of songs, there was no shortage of material to draw from and on this night, the themes of loss and love felt at the fore with Walk Away a particular standout. Another highlight was their brilliant cover of the Springsteen song Drive All Night, before they finished the set with the hilarious, toe-tapping C’est L’amour.

Mark Seymour and the Undertow hit the stage next, kicking off with the achingly beautiful She Burned Her Bridges Down before moving straight into the title track of April 2024’s album release The Boxer. It was the first of eight songs from the album, which were peppered perfectly with classics from Seymour’s back catalogue.

“This one never dies,” Seymour quipped as he introduced one of his early hits, The River Runs Dry. One of the marks of a consummate performer is the ability to give enough background to a song to make it shine ever brighter and to connect strongly with the audience. Seymour does this very well indeed and the setting of The Charles Hotel made these moments even more powerful and poignant.

Other standouts of the night were Waiting on the Kid, Stars of Fitzroy and the glorious cover of the late John Prine’s She’s My Everything.

Of course, it wouldn’t have been the perfect night without those beloved anthems Do You See What I See, Throw Your Arms Around Me and the final song of the night Holy Grail. If Mark Seymour and the Undertow are in your area again, be sure you don’t miss it.

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