The opening run of the Small Hall Sessions featured the pairing of Barry Saunders and Delaney Davidson. Now, nearly 3 and a half years and around 180 Sessions later, this remarkable duo has returned to stomp the boards of Hawkes Bay’s rural hubs. This time it’s in support of their new album, released on this very day, Happiness is Near. An optimistic title, perhaps, given the clowns that are currently looting the country for all it’s worth, but a worthy hope nonetheless!

There can’t be much more of an indication of the esteem with which the Sessions are held, than the fact that they were chosen as one of the principal vehicles for driving the album release-the tour touching down also in Leigh, Auckland, Wellington and Lincoln. But those other places pale into insignificance against the opportunity to play the Sessions circuit!

And so it came to be that, on a rainy night in Te-Matau-a-Maui, the seaside Te Awanga Hall was SRO for this, the first of three nights of this latest iteration of the Sessions. And while the sea and the rain did their respective things outside, inside these two troubadours did their thing: captivating their audience with their tunes and tales. It’s one of the well-established traditions of the Sessions that those present, both performers and observers, bring a degree of respect for the craft, as appropriate for such an intimate setting. So it was on this night, as these gentlemen of the road shared their songs and stories, which covered a diverse range of themes and topics.

From the opener, Long Goodbye, the wero was laid down-this was to be a powerful show. While, on paper, this might appear to be an unlikely combination, thankfully this didn’t happen on paper, but here in front of us! Barry and Delaney first encountered each other some years ago and recognized a commonality of spirit that led to their joint endeavour. Delaney’s darker style brings a degree of atmosphere befitting Barry’s tales of adventures and people long past, the alchemy of collaboration forging an alloy greater than the sum of its parts, in the magical way that music can. Some inspiration there perhaps for society in general, showing what can be achieved by working together towards a common aim? Maybe, but however you cut it, a fuckin’ good time in the company of masters of their craft!

Delaney’s Yeah Yeah Yeah is a ditty that has inspired singalongs with its complex chorus across the world, wherever it’s been sung, and Te Awanga was no exception, the reverence with which the audience performed their part clearly touching the musicians, bonding the gathered souls through the power of song.

Each artist forayed in to a solo number, Barry’s being one, albeit in a somewhat modified form, that he first encountered during his incarceration, aged 6, at a Health Camp in Otaki - the traditional Diamond Joe, an ode to greedy bastards everywhere (thus carrying a definite resonance in these times!)

The first set concluded with Out of Our Hands, the first song written together, before Delaney’s invitation to various potentially nefarious activities during the intermission-trying to bring extra excitement to the seaside hamlet, perhaps?

Set two commenced with the plaintive and atmospheric These Are The Days, proceeding through What’s It You’re Trying to Say, a rumination inspired by political billboards and the promises (or otherwise) therein. Strangely relevant at a time where the only ones who’ve got what they were promised are landlords and party donors!

The intensely Dylanesque Evil Eye preceded Barry’s reminiscence of piscine trauma in Tumbledown. Word Gets Around, the title track to the first album, featured a soupcon of yodel from Delaney, before Long Way Home entranced with its evocation of life on the road.

This led in to the vigorously demanded encore, including question time. The highlight of the dialogue at this point was Delaney’s call to start pronouncing Te Reo place names correctly, as an introduction to a wider aim of increasing the korero more generally (as much as certain bad actors may want to discourage such a thing!). The musical components of this set consisted of Stolen River, followed by the new album’s title track Happiness is Near (or as suggested by Barry, "Happiness is Here" in the immediate surroundings). This last song saw Delaney exchanging greetings with the front row in a style suggesting an alternative career as a preacher, and with material as powerful and dynamic as that delivered in the preceding couple of hours, it’d be a strong message he’d bring!

But as with all things, this too passed, a deeply satisfied audience flocking to the merch desk to carry the music with them into their lives, before heading out in to the chilly night with a fresh inner glow brought on by what had just been jointly experienced.

Te-Matau-a-Maui, you too can experience this for yourself – there are still tickets available for Saturday and Sunday, in Elsthorpe and Kereru respectively. Let’s fill those venues, proving that happiness is indeed near, if not already here!

Photo Credit: Andrew Caldwell

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