Christchurch duo The Remnants modestly describe themselves as Purveyors of Sublime Acoustic Sounds. Rob Allan and Bruce Penno have been playing guitars of various kinds for decades, in a number of different line-ups. From bands with as many as a dozen musos on stage, things have been pared back to just two — The Remnants. The kaupapa of this duo is the never-ending quest for a clean, uncluttered, and delightful acoustic sound.
On both vocals and guitars, this is a beautiful collision of different but complementary skills. Vocally, these two performers have contrasting vocal ranges and styles, resulting in an effective blending of vocal harmonies, and keeping things interesting as each takes the vocal lead in different songs. They also like to mix things up with guitar accompaniments, sometimes using two acoustic guitars, sometimes acoustic and electric, and sometimes guitar and bass.
The fruit of these endeavours is a set of classy, polished acoustic covers of folk and pop songs, with an emphasis on great musicianship and tight vocal harmonies. The music is cruisy and easy on the ear, but quite varied, traversing a number of genres, and including a decent dose of Kiwi music. Some of the artists that feature on their set list include Neil Young, Dave Dobbyn, Bruce Cockburn, Crowded House, James Taylor, Jason Mraz, Bob Dylan, Casey Chambers, and Opshop.
The Remnants last appeared at the Folk Club in November 2020, receiving enthusiastic acclaim from those who were lucky enough to be in the audience. Their return concert in May 2021 is one that you won't want to miss. This time around it will be double trouble and twice the fun, as they are joined by talented friends from down south — Dunedin band Dee Street Blues.
Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theremnants.nz/
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theremnants-nz
Dee Street Blues:
Dee Street Blues was formed in 2014, starting out as a covers band playing blues rock. Over the next few years the band wrote a collection of original songs. Their music is now a mixture of blues, folk and protest songs. The band plays regularly in venues around Dunedin. The line-up has changed several times over the years but the core of the band remains Richard and Michelle Jackson. The current line-up of the band is:
Michelle Jackson – vocals, guitar, harmonica, flute, tin whistle, trumpet
Richard Jackson – guitar, vocals
Dave Cox – Bass guitar, drums, vocals
Kendall Henderson – Trumpet, vocals, percussion
Entry: $10 Members, $15 Non-Members & $5 Students with ID
Doors open 7pm. Performance starts at 7.30pm. You will get a seat if you arrive close to 7pm.
Plenty of well-lit off-street parking.
Door sales cash only: Tea, coffee, biscuits and cake available during the break, also bar facilities for cold refreshments throughout the night, Eftpos available for bar purchases only, no cash-out facility. Folk Club and Irish Society members please bring your current membership card as required for licensing. Non-members sign in at the bar.
