Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy - Live at the Toff, DVD

One could say that Live at the Toff is a historical marker as it documents a once-only performance by Kilbey and Kennedy; the musical offerings come from their record Unseen Music Unheard Words and visually the songs stand up quite well. Onstage, the band is rounded off by The Triffid's Graham Lee on pedal steel guitar and percussionist Michael Evans-Barker. The melodies crafted by Kennedy are intoxicatingly beautiful and Kilbey's performance is raw and bold, here you see a man and his voice delivering his own words without fear or filter.

Don't think this live presentation is just another episode of Storytellers, instead it is a straight forward showcase for the songs from UMUW performed in the same order as they appear on the record; the banter between songs is kept to a minimum driving home the fact that on this dvd, the music does the talking. However, for those of us who are accustomed to and expect smart ass cracks and observations from Steve Kilbey, rest easy, there are a few right before the encore.

The dvd is mixed to perfection and each song's uniqueness is highlighted to it's full potential making this collection of songs a must for all Church fans and for anyone wanting to learn more about Kennedy's talent for writing music. Right, so it sounds great but what about the visuals, what do you get to see?

Well for starters, you get to see four very talented musicians decked out in tuxedos playing incredibly mesmerizing music while a disco ball perpetually spins overhead. You get to see Steve Kilbey fill the space with only words. You get to see Martin Kennedy extract multifaceted melodies from his guitars. You get to see trippy background images framing the notes and the words but most of all you get to see what an exceptional musical collaboration looks like.

Live at the Toff DVD will be released on August 2, 2010 so contact Kilbey and Kennedy for your copy before they're all spoken for.