John Cale
Xani
The Recital Hall, Sydney
July 10 2025

Do you remember that annoying kid in Year Nine at school? The one who used to badger you with his arrogance and who raved about obscure songs and artists to prove he was superior? He would rattle off their names like a machine gun, firing off the titles of B sides of obnoxious Rush singles and dropping the name of some obscure European prog band that had elves on the cover of their debut album. 

You, on the other hand, had discovered “Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal” by Lou Reed and had proudly made the connection that it had Dick Wagner on guitar who was now playing with Alice Cooper. And the ever-annoying wanker classmate would declare that the Reed record that I had just bought at Ashwood's was "shit" because it was “commercial” before name-dropping someone called John Cale.

And as it turns out, he was onto something when he spoke about John Cale. At age 15, I  was really was not that interested in looking into how cool music was. or hunting down something that was "arty".  I was into Alice Cooper and was about to get into punk. I still had my Dylan and Stones albums.

It would be years later until the penny actually dropped. I am not that cool,  I admit, and only really started listening to Cale when a local band, No Man’s Land, was performing a stellar version of his cover of “Heartbreak Hotel”. Their singer, Dave Slade, told me their version was a salute to John Cale, not Elvis.  I tracked down his album “Guts” and was hooked. I was aged 21.

Years later, I was able to witness what I was to consider the ultimate Cale performance myself at the Byron Bay RSL.  Cale had sold out the Enmore Theatre in Sydney and here he was up the coast on the way the Brisbane, and playing a licnesed club backroom amongst the noise of the pokies and the aroma of cheap eats.  

Only 17 tickets were sold. Cale insisted the seats be arranged around the stage. He was engaging and humble, talking about the songs and their stories  It was still remains one of the best gigs of my life. Cale was completely unpretentious as hammered down on his keyboard, delivering “Heartbreak Hotel”, his own stuff and selected Velvets songs for nearly two hours.

Thirty years later, the Recital Hall show is announced and sells out in two days.  I was quite looking forward to the night.  Over the years, I have been a solid Cale fan. I admit to not being a completist but I have revisited him every  few  years.  After a beer and a catch up with a few mates, we grab our seats. These are nosebleed seats in a venue that is arguably one of the best music venues in Australia. I have heard an elite classical musician claim it's possibly the finest audio experience in the Southern Hemisphere and the sound at every gig.  I have been to here has been mind-blowing, even with my damaged ears.

Opening act Xani takes the stage with her violin. I am taken by surprise by this artist of international level.  I am enthralled within minutes  This not your usual support act.  Opening with rhythmic plucks and creating low octave bass lines with her instrument; a series of layers are created.  With sweeping violin arpeggios and then counter melodies layered with her vocals, Xani sweeps effortlessly between different scales, from Eastern European the standard Pentomic.

What stunned me with her 35 minutes was the diversity of sounds crammed into each six-minute masterpiece.  Looping is not easy at the best of times and the average pub musician manages to work clumsily to do two layers  Xani works through up to five layers, adding her vocals and even doing an Irish jig between songs. 

There are nods to Krautrock, Kraftwerk, European disco, and Eastern European Gypsy music, sometimes acconmpanied by solid rock beats.  She delivers sweeping atmospheric pieces, full of emotions and drama.

If there is a last bastion of cutting-edge musical artistry, it’s the loopers.  Zoe Keating from Canada leads the pack on cello. Xani is right up there on the world stage too. Each performance is unique and perfect in its timing, probably through years getting it right with a metronome. And then the sweeping improvisation begins. Loopers are arguably the Coltranes of our  time. Songs like “A Cups” and “Moving On” were mind-blowing tonight. Not much impresses me these days. Xani did.

I spoke to Xani after the show and gladly parted with my cash for her album. Humbly, she explained she found out that Cale was aware of her music and had asked her to tour. Tonight, she walks onstage at Cale’s request .The violinist improvised with Cale’s band and the whole hall was lifted while she was on stage.  I will be trying see this Melbourne-based musician when she plays Sydney again.

After a time, the lights dims and a full band walks on stage . The 83-year-old John Cale finally shuffles on and acknowledges the audience.  The stage is then set ablaze by a backdrop of film.

“Shark Shark” opens the show, a single from the previous year, and I am stunned. The sound is loud and in your  face.  The drummer keeps it to Moe Tucker-style primal drumming and the guitars layered on top. It likes they are nailing a Velvets sound with today’s fidelity.

Cale then declares: “I have made a new friend.”  Xani Kolac returns to the stage and adjusts her pedals  Cale plays a soaring version of “Captain Hook” from one of my favourite albums, “Sabotage”.  The songs resonates with Cale’s deep baritone now even more weathered and dense, set against the interplay of his keyboard and the guitars. Xani had no idea about the song and her improvisation skills are tested, but she takes the lead on violin and lifts the Recital Hall with her sweeping sound.

Another gem is lifted from 1970s with “Mr Wilson”, a nod to the passing of Brian Wilson. 

John Lennon once told the audience at a Royal Command Performance in the cheaper seats they should clap their hands and bid those in the expensive seats to rattle their jewellery . I am sort of glad to be way back in the theatre to grasp the filmmaking of the visuals being projected. Each song meshes with the visuals and at most times the music became a soundtrack to the filmmaking. It was artfully achieved and does recall the Velvet Underground’s experimentations way back in 1966. 

“Heartbreak Hotel” is as menacing and dark as expected.  Cale’s touring band is “on”. Justin Boyer on guitar goes to town and delves into the swamplands on many songs, soaking his sound in layers of analogue tape reverb, 

The original Cale cover was so cutting edge and no doubt that the Birthday Party had it on replay as one of the foundations of their sound.  It still has the sinister hook line at its heart. The band takes it back to the Deep South tonight, making it seem even more timeless. The rhythm section of Joey Marambo on bass and drummer Alex Times is sharp all night. And this is THE song those Cale freaks wanted to hear as the Recital Hall erupts.

Cale is here to promote  his latest album “POPtical Illusion” and its songs are prominent in the set. The album is solid and shows that after 60 years, Cale still delvers interesting and subversive LPs. One of the aspects of tonight’s performance was a reminder of how Cale was able to bring a droning quality to the music of the Velvets - and that quality is faithfully recreated.  
 
After a set of about 90 minutes and a long break, Cale returns to rapturous applause.  And the opening notes of “Waiting For The Man”. The original Lou Reed song was based on simplicity and Reed’s deadpan delivery of the experience of junkie hood. Tonight's version is a visual spectacle and seems almost prog rock by comparison to the original with psychedelic work-outs on guitar as Cale hammers his keys. Some of the audience is are now standing as the repetitive drone takes hold. It’s a powerfully effective eight-minute version. Cale leaves the stage and it’s possibly the last time we see him facing a Sydney audience.

Tonight was my gig of year; It ticked all boxes for me. For three hours, we were introduced to a cutting edge set and a support spot from an exceptionally gifted musician in Xani who is world-class to boot. Cale presented a show full of textures and emotion, overlaid by stunning visuals.

If Cale’s legacy was solely being a member of The Velvet Underground and the producer of the first Patti Smith and Stooges albums, that would be enough but there are nearly 20 of his solo albums to deep dive into. He remains on the fringe and has never sacrificed his vision. 

And that annoying bloke in year in Year Nine? He could be have been at the gig too, missing the opening act in the bar and talking about obscure songs that he saw Nico play at the Sydney Trade Union Club in 1986.

Yeah, yeah , dude, I was there, too.