The seemingly meteoric rise of Josh and Sam Teskey, the brothers going from releasing their first album in 2017, getting signed in 2019 and onto global megastardom, is underpinned by a lot of hard work, the siblings having formed the nascent band some sixteen years ago. Back then, when The Teskey Brothers were busking and playing parties, the thought of selling out three nights in a row at one of the most famous venues in the world, the other side of the globe to Melbourne, would probably have seemed fantastical.
The Teskey Brothers – Folk Bitch Trio
Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith – 13 September 2024
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Photography: Antonio Giannattasio
Here we are, though, and not only is the Eventim Apollo full to the rafters with passionate and very vocal fans, but they are also recording the show for future release, the night set for magic.
Folk Bitch Trio
Before the main event, fellow Antipodeans, the charmingly monikered Folk Bitch Trio proved to be a perfect warm-up for what was to come. The outfit, consisting of Jeanie Pilkington, Heide Peverelle and Gracie Sinclair, stroll onstage with just three microphones and three guitars, starting off the set as they mean to go on, everything stripped back and raw.
The sound of their harmonies is nothing short of heavenly, the trio able to transfix and transport a previously boisterous Hammersmith into the atmosphere of an intimate basement club as the opening acapella number demands total attention.
There’s certainly something special here, and the three manage to have a glacial cool and calm, all wrapped up in a generous warmth that’s as welcoming as a hot bath at the end of a tiring day. The set seemingly flies by and the applause at the end by the spellbound audience sees Folk Bitch Trio wreathed in big smiles, a return visit to these shores a certain thing.
The Teskey Brothers
The Teskey Brothers have been classed by some as blues rock, but the truth is much nearer the soul of Otis Redding et al. Opener Pain And Misery is super smooth. Its silky wash is enough to make a charging rhino stop and fall in love as the pipes of Josh emote with pitch-perfect tenderness.
The following Man Of The Universe adds a bit more bite to the swing and groove, the feeling of the perfectly crafted and curated joy done with a slickness that comes from years perfecting their craft. There is certainly nothing anodyne about the outfit, though, and amongst the lush washes of colour, numbers like So Caught Up and I Get Up mix Stax and the sort of sound that Wilson Pickett built a career on to powerful effect.
The audience lap up every note, each song greeted like an old friend and the crowd’s singing on Rain almost threatens to drown out the band.
Whilst his older brother’s voice may be showstopping, Sam Teskey’s fretwork is also breathtaking, his fingers managing to wring out tenderness one minute and some strutting licks the next. Especially effective is when he jams with keys player Olaf Scott during the incendiary psychedelic blues section of Paint My Heart, the guitarist’s tone owing more to David Gilmour than Steve Cropper.
From stripped-back moments of purity in Carry Me Home, a heartrending Blind Without You and the soul slammer of Biblical proportions of set closer What Will Be, where the band bring out their inner James Brown, this is a thrilling and many textured show.
Starting the encore with classic standard Try A Little Tenderness up until the closing singalong of Hold Me, this was a victory lap, and as the thousands poured out to go home, still singing, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that The Teskey Brothers are heading for global stardom as the latest generation of Soul Giants.
Magnificent and utterly life-affirming.
