Chet Faker may be dead but Nick Murphy was alive and kicking at Cityfolk

Australian pop phenom Chet Faker has reverted to his birth name, Nick Murphy, but he hasn’t lost the ability to hypnotize a crowd, as seen on Friday night at CityFolk in Ottawa.

It was still warm and sunny when 54-40 hit the City stage Friday night. Lead singer Neil Osborne mentioned it had been a while since they had been to Ottawa. One sight that triggered memories for him was Barrymore’s Music Hall. He remembered the smelly beer. The five piece Canadian band, featuring special guest Daniel Lapp, played a mix of classics and new material. Numerous classic hits included “I Go Blind” (1986), “One Day In Your Life” (1987), “One Gun” (1987), “She La” (1992), “Ocean Pearl” (1994), and “Since When” (1998). Songs from their latest album, Keep On Walking (2018), included the title track and “Dream We Spoke Of”. Osborne revealed that the latter reminded him of a time when he and bassist Brad Merritt were first following their dreams in California and were pulled over by police. They switched seats to avoid getting Merritt in trouble. Osborne also explained the meaning of the album name, Keep On Walking. It references a quote often attributed to Rodney Atkins and William Churchill, advising that if you’re going through hell, to keep on going until you’re through it.

Members of 54-40 were impressively multi-talented. Throughout the performance, David Genn played keys, guitar, and mandolin, in addition to providing backing vocals for Osborne. Daniel Lapp played both violin and horns. Osborne sang, and played guitar and banjo. The band finished their set with “Baby Ran” (1986) and a message from Osborne that as he gets older, he realizes time is more valuable than money. As such, he thanked the audience for spending time with him.

Over at the Ravenlaw stage, Detroit natives Seth and Jax Anderson, A.K.A. Flint Eastwood, were burning it up with a high energy performance. This was exhibited in both in the pop-dance vibe of their music, as well as the spirited dance moves. Jax hyped up the crowd, singing over backing tracks and encouraging the audience to dance and raise their hands. She often stuck out her tongue and raised the sign of the horns.

Jax was also a very charismatic and motivational speaker. At one point, she explained that she was raised in a very religious home, and although she is no longer religious, she believes in respecting people even if you strongly disagree with them. She went on to say that she is an openly gay musician, and that she only found real love once she left religion behind. This segued into her fierce and inspirational track, “Real Love” (2018). Before her final song, she spoke of women being told they’re not capable, pretty, or smart enough, and encouraged the women in the audience not to listen.

Allan Rayman was the next performer to hit the big stage. No stranger to CityFolk, having been on the festival’s roster last year, Rayman gave the crowd another taste of his quirky, powerful performance. Sauntering out of the side stage shadows looking a little worse for wear, Rayman didn’t do much talking, but he did give the crowd what it was hoping for. He has often been called enigmatic, preferring to avoid the media circus. Despite this, Rayman still manages to attract a solid and loyal fan base. His vibe is dark, melancholic and bluesy with ongoing tones of rock, funk and soul. It’s no surprise that he was nominated for a Juno in the Breakthrough Artist of the Year category this year.

The last performance we caught on Friday night was Nick Murphy‘s edgy, funky masterpiece of a show. Until recently, Murphy had built a phenomenal international cult following as his alter-ego, Chet Faker. He chose the name as an homage to jazzman Chet Baker and his soulful, fragile singing style. As Chet, Murphy first rose to fame after his 2011 cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” went viral. He then went on to collaborations with other artists, including an EP called Lockjaw (2013) with Flume. On 8 September 2016, Faker wrote on Facebook, “It’s been half a decade since I started releasing music as Chet Faker and all of you have been the driving force behind the music since. There’s an evolution happening and I wanted to let you know where it’s going. The next record will be under my own name, Nick Murphy. Chet Faker will always be a part of the music. This is next.” On Friday night, Nick Murphy was welcomed with open arms by the Ottawa crowd who swayed along with him, culminating in a rousing cover of Sonia Dada’s “You Don’t Treat Me No Good” (1992).

Other acts performing at CityFolk on Friday night included William Prince and Humble Pie.

For information on the rest of the CityFolk lineup, visit www.cityfolkfestival.com.

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