Fire Aid (Stella Donnelly, San Cisco, John Butler, The Waifs) - FAC

Australia continues to dig deeply to donate to the charities supporting the people, animals and lands devastated by the ongoing infernos that have blazed on for almost two months. Whilst our emergency services, communities, wildlife carers, farmers and volunteers are exhausted to their very bones, the generosity of the Australian public is not spent yet.

With large musical aid concerts planned for the East, Western Australian musicians have also leapt forward for the cause with a range of tribute acts and backyard gigs springing up to raise funds for fire relief. However, the Fire Aid concerts, would prove the biggest yet. The brainchild of Philip Stevens, founder of Jarrah records and manger of some of WA's finest musicians (and parent of one, San Cisco's drummer Scarlett), the concerts brought together three of Fremantle's finest - Stella Donnelly, San Cisco and John Butler - as well as well as Albany-originated roots and folk superstars The Waifs. By the best of fortune, all the stars aligned to ensure the schedules of all four were clear for the first show. The Waifs had played a headline show at FAC the night prior, and Stella left the gig a while after her set to travel to Brisbane for Laneway Festival. San Cisco and John Butler, were also enjoying a home stint so were available for the event. On night two, Stella was replaced by the equally talented Carla Geneve.

Stella Donnelly is one of WA's fastest rising stars. She scooped a slew of WAM Awards in 2019 and a number of singles from her album Beware of the Dogs have enjoyed considerable national airplay. She may have missed out (just) on a Triple J Hottest 100 chart position (Tricks, #127) but in a relatively short time it is clear that she has amassed a significant following. Whilst she may not have had time to squeeze all her singles into her opening set, the addition of Dido's Thank You, dedicated to the firefighters, perfectly fitted her range.

San Cisco is about the sunniest west coast-iest band you could ever hope to see. The band has been a regular for some time at festivals and brings the feel good. With a couple of albums under their belt and new single Skin, the band was met with a raucous crowd happily shouting the lyrics back to them.

John Butler, Fremantle street busker done good, saw a shifting of the crowd as the parents muscled their way in past the kids to get as close as possible to John's guitar genius. Opening with banjo on the bouncy Better Than, and moving on to the grittier Wade in the Water from current album Home, John moved through an eclectic set, which didn't feel nearly long enough. Equal parts protector of culture and environment, it would be rare to be at John Butler gig and not leave feeling he is about one of the most authentic, values-led musicians that walks this earth. Ancestry was deeply woven into his set, he spoke of his own family heritage, gave thanks to indigenous ancestors and chartered a meandering set which included his own take on Danny Boy (which his grandmother insisted he get right) and finished with spoken word We Have Wings.

Like John Butler, The Waifs are bonafide global superstars, but tonight found them in a fragile place. The set began with a clearly distressed Donna Simpson explaining the poignancy of the night to their band. This was clearly not just going to be a fundraiser for "other" people affected but the fires, it was about their people, their band family. Bandmate Josh Cunningham's farm, surrounded by the Ironbark trees that gave The Waif's last album its name, as well as being the place where it was recorded, was in harm's way - the farm, the studio, the ironbarks and the horses. But there was more, their drummer's hometown was immediately under threat with homes evacuated and cars packed. A chilling email read by Donna, received just the day of the concert, detailed the preparation for the evacuation, the covering of windows, the filling of gutters, the packing of cars with no way to escape because the roads were closed. (Full video of this email being read by Donna is available of Jangle Music facebook page). It is hard to imagine therefore, with two band mates homes at immediate risk, how the band could perform at all, but the email had concluded that they should do what they do best - and so they did, powering through a set which included favourites London Still, Fisherman's Daughter, and Lighthouse, as well as Josh's Ironbark.

A surprise finale selection, which saw John Butler and San Cisco front man Jordi Davieson, join The Waifs onstage, was the 1982 Goanna classic Solid Rock. At last year's Waifs Freo Social gig, the album took pride of place in their faux lounge room stage set, so perhaps it's something they play from time to time on their own, but as a collaboration it was a perfect way to close the night.

Heart filling, sacred music, and an overwhelming feeling of living on borrowed time, and the winds of change are blowing down the line.

And the total raised from ticket sales alone? A massive $650,000. Thank you WA!

★★★★★