Rainy days remind me of the first time I watched Uncle Jed’s
stage, at the Jazz and Blues Festival at Darling Harbor, in 2010. I had watched it by myself, surprisingly with
independence and gut even though it was a rainy afternoon. It wasn’t until later that evening that Tom
had joined me on the South Steyne, it was one of the best things that I went to
during my 3 years of stay in Australia.
The entry was well worth it and I’d give anything to do it all over
again. $20 to intimately see James
Morrison and Emma Pask, my favorite collaboration and quite traditionally.
Each year I had gone to the festival, studied the program
and figured out which gigs I wanted to catch, it was definitely a must-go event
for me even amidst exam period, but a good break from studies.
It’s a shame because the festival is no longer running after
2012 while it had been in place for 2 decades.
Even towards the end of 2012 when Uncle Jed launched their
new single, Home, I had dragged Tom to see them with me at The Basement; it was
the second time they hosted a gig there, the 3rd time I paid to see
them perform, and the 4th time I’d seen them live.
1st encounter at the Jazz and Blues Jazz
Festival, Darling Harbor in 2010
2nd encounter was just 2 months after when they
launched their first album, holding a gig at The Basement at Circular
Quay. I had brought my friends along. Lead Vocalist Laura's distinctive voice truly
rocks the band. But more importantly,
it’s the family chemistry that had gotten them a breakthrough.
3rd encounter to see their gig at The Sugar
Lounge, Manly. I remembered getting there and even asking the band whether they're doing the gig anymore as they looked really chilled just hanging around the stage but they were really just setting up.
4th and last encounter was when they launched
Home, also my favorite song from them that I keep going back to. And last night it brought me to tears because
it’s as though talking about the situation I have right now, a dream
unfulfilled, where things are just no longer the same as they had started
off.
The lyrics go:
Coz I, see life,
with you
And all I want is
happiness for you
If you need to go,
then I will get through
But baby I just
need to know that you’ll be home soon
And I’d let you
catch me if I got away
We’ve got to be
crazy to think about that maybe, we gonna survive this wa
Thinking it will be
easy , won’t it be worth the pain
On the night I had a nice seat on the side with a good view of the band,
and managed to catch a few words with Laura Stitt after the performance to tell
her how I found out about them and how much I enjoy their music, but my biggest
regret was not taking a photo with her back then.
Who knew the band is now nationally famous after winning
Australia’s got talent. They are, truly
Australian and truly original in their music, this is why I love them. Moreover, the fact that they had gone so far
as to being in public limelight, being on such a big stage, and shocking the
judges in the most phenomenal ways. This
band, was one I had seen flourishing from humble beginnings, and I can’t be
more proud to have recognised the talent before they rose to fame.
But no more do they go by the name of Uncle Jed, no more do
they hold casual intimate gigs because they are now Luna Grand, signed, and
carry a different sound.
They used to shape their music around funk, soul, reggae and
jazz, but now their Uncle Jed sounds are lost in history. Incredibly sensational sounds. And I hate how I never made it to see their
last gigs as Uncle Jed when they toured on the East Coast.
Reminiscing good times, good sounds. They’re what I’ve always been looking for,
but what happened to that jazz touch LunaGrand?
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