The Tea Party "Live From Australia-The Reformation Tour 2012"

I saw this on my release sheet but passed on it because it was live and I owned just one of their albums.  Lo and behold, BKP sends it to me in a musical care package.  If you are unaware of them, and that's probably most of you (unless you are Canadian or Aussie), The TP are from north of the border and had a very successful eight album/fifteen-year run from 1991-2005.  I believe it was six Top 10 albums.  They didn't tour much, period, but somehow they developed enough of a following Down Under and traveled there to play around a third of all their shows.  So if you get the boys back together after a few years on the shelf, why not do it where you can have a Toohey's oil can and a vegemite sandwich?  Your home country will already be in your back pocket.

What I most remember about the band was the employment of Middle Eastern influences and instruments in an alternative rock setting.  Nothing straight forward in their R'N'R, though I may have thought of The Cult on occasion, but most of the comparisons were to Zeppelin and The Doors, the latter due to the similarities in vocal timbre (now it's the Editors' Tom Smith who sings like this).  This is taken from the tour video and was the opening track of the one CD I have...

 

More than likely, the album was a promo copy I kept after playing it in-store for three months.  That said, it must not have made a lasting impression on me as I didn't remember any of the four songs pulled from it for this concert, which is nearly two hours in length.  The recording itself is as pristine and immaculate as it gets for live shows.  If you are one of the many who enjoy concerts of all genres, this rock show should be on your next bill. 



Thought I'd throw this acoustic setting at you on a whim.  They have many, many fans, but is this going to win them any more?  Nope.  Preaching to the choir.  However, it does bode well for a future studio release.  It was announced a week ago that the band has stayed in Australia to write and record "the next chapter." 

I'll keep me ears open for it...