Are we listening to them?

The world needs knowledgeable people, and the world also needs to listen to them. More than that, they need the opportunity to do so.

In this era of blanket coverage of information — real, imagined or downright maliciously fake — we need people who have done the reading, the research and the field trials and can speak with authority on their specialist subject.

Then we need the public and people in government to heed their advice or warnings.

A lot of ordinary citizens want to have a say in how their country / city / town / region is run, but they are not necessarily the best people for the job. It’s easy to have a little knowledge and want a big say, and in this time of easy access to media that can happen.

But what about those men and women who really know their stuff? Are we listening? Or are they getting drowned out by the opinionated?

The rubbish on the internet is as big a problem as the rubbish fouling our planet, but it’s getting worse with no obvious effort to reduce it. Drowned in all the flotsam are gems of truth and wisdom we should be hearing / reading, because therein lie the solutions to so many of our woes. Wouldn’t it be nice if the internet could prioritise comment by its actual value, putting to the forefront the things we should be reading, instead of the knee-jerk rants from those less qualified or informed? With all the wonders of technology, you’d think that would be easy. After all, if Facebook can suddenly drag up memories from years ago and present embarrassing photos you didn’t know were even on the internet, surely there’s something that can sort fact from fiction and present arguments in order of reliability. That would relegate a whole lot of trolls to the bottom of page 2003 and give reason a fighting chance on page 1.

Yes there are websites of real authority but you have to know about them or know how to find them. In the meantime, cyber places of fluff retain priority and get the clicks.

Tattletale Saints played at the Sarjeant Gallery on Friday night. Cy Winstanley and Vanessa McGowan played and sang their way through a generous set of original songs and a couple of covers, to a fully booked auditorium. Vanessa’s father and uncle are both Whanganui men, so this town is always on the tour schedule.

These days the duo are based in Nashville, and I do declare they brought a bit of Tennessee home with them on this trip.

While stripped back to the acoustic duo their fans prefer, they played old favourites with a brand new feel, and gave us a couple of new ones as well.

With Cy on guitar, Vanessa on double bass and both of them on vocals, they displayed how they’ve thrived in the rich, musical American climate. Their old songs revisited sound different, more mature, and Cy’s guitar work has definitely grown. There’s a little more country and a lot less of the old James Taylor / Paul Simon derivative of old. Their voices are stronger, the harmonies more confident, and while Cy easily hits the high notes, there’s a masculine edge that wasn’t there before. They have always looked and sounded relaxed on stage, but now they own that space, looking completely comfortable and right at home.

Cy and Vanessa work independently in the US, playing gigs and session work with other bands, but often getting back together as Tattletale Saints. They recently released a CD single with two tracks — like the old A&B sides of a 45 single — Bobby Where Did You Learn To Dance and Honest Work, and played both songs at the Sarjeant. They went down very well.

Their on-stage patter was fun, a little bit personal, and it made the audience feel “in on the joke”. That’s a special feeling when you’re listening to two musicians who are making it in the big Nashville market. At one point the banter verged on friendly argument until Vanessa stopped it with, “That’s not a conversation for this stage.” That got a laugh.

Tattletale Saints is an intelligent band for people who like strong lyrics and good, original melodies interpreted by two outstanding musicians with voices to match.

They played songs from their albums and threw a couple of curve balls. “I know that song . . . ” we all thought as they gave us a completely new version of Abba’s Dancing Queen. It sounded great!

At half-time they got behind the sales table, catching up with old friends and selling albums and merchandise.

Tattletale Saints is touring the country, playing to fans old and new in packed houses. Whanganui looks forward to a return engagement, the sooner the better.

‘Tattletale Saints is an intelligent band for people who like strong lyrics and good, original melodies interpreted by two outstanding musicians with match.’ voices to