A mesmerising musical maestro
Garrett Kato has clearly listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen in his time.
When he came out on stage, he didn’t stand on ceremony and cranked straight into the first song, a lithe piece of balladry laced with a very Springsteen-esque harmonica part. Sadly, he ditched the harmonica and collar after that track but, unburdened by that piece of apparatus, he really started to open up to and connect with a small but appreciative crowd.
It felt at times like Kato was opening up his closet and giving us a walk through with intimate details of past relationships, heartache and triumph, and songs that bookmarked each moment in time.
He made no secret of his reverence for Springsteen, and he might sound eerily like Damien Rice, but he is still resolutely his own artist, with a yearning and soulful voice, thoughtful lyrics and some very deft guitar skills.
The second act saw the return of the harmonica and a roughly even mix of uplifting and pensive tracks.
Kato praised the acoustics of the Energy Centre, and rightly so – it’s a great wee venue and brilliantly suited to such an intimate gig.
He rounded out his set with an spellbinding unplugged version of Atlantic City from Springsteen’s Nebraska, an album I’m picking he played till it wore thin.
Kato is a displaced Canadian living in Australia, soaking up irony and making a name for himself.
You get the feeling that his mastery of the small gig has been hard won, and the long days busking to indifferent crowds must make this sort of thing like a kiss on the cheek.
Kato was a mesmerising addition to this year’s festival lineup. If he’s good for a second visit, it’ll feel a little like catching up with an old friend.