FOR all its loveliness, the acoustic guitar has sometimes suffered from its association with quaveringly introspective singer-songwriters: in the wrong hands, it can be a pretty bloodless experience.

Happily, Derrin Nauendorf's gig at the Centenary Centre last Saturday was a reminder of what can happen when a guitar gets into the right hands.

It was a solo return trip for the young Australian artist, who first came to the Island with his band for a barnstorming performance at last year's Blues Festival. As someone who has built his name on the force of his live shows, it was never going to be less than compelling.

The standard for the night was set by support act Christy D and Rob Cross, who deserve more than a small mention for riveting people to their seats (not normally the province of the support act).

Christy, who has previously shared the Centenary stage with Northern Irish songwriter Juliet Turner, combines a breezy stage presence with self-penned songs which mine a rich vein of lyricism and emotional eloquence.

There is a wistful strength in her voice which is reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde; the last time I checked, this was a very good thing indeed.

Twice, the stripped-down set – which includes a beautifully unadorned Guillemots cover ('Made Up Love Song No. 43') – is given a twist by Christy's use of a loop station, allowing her and Rob to play against building layers of vocals and licks. It's an experiment which pays off.

Successful risks are something Derrin Nauendorf knows all about.

Usually classified for convenience sake as roots, what really defines his music is a vigorous intensity: it's the sound of someone going for broke, throwing everything they have behind what they do, and loving it. Melbourne-raised Nauendorf toured hard for years before his first commercial release, The Rattling Wheel, won him rave reviews. While the last year has hit him with tough personal times (he lost his father in 2007) his creative star is most definitely in the ascendant.

Opening the show with the title track from his forthcoming album, Skin of the Earth, is a typically uncompromising move – it's a brooding, downbeat number from under a cloud – but during the rest of the set, Nauendorf moves through a spectrum of moods like a changing sky.

Whether making tender pledges – the soulful I Won't Turn My Back – or issuing a barbed kiss-off – the magnificent Queensland – the sense of his conviction never falters. Such is his intensity, it's hard to imagine that he moonlights with soul singer Paul Young's light-hearted band of compadres, Los Pacaminos.

Much has been made of Nauendorf's playing and rightly so. He can switch effortlessly from a scuffed, low-slung groove to a fiendish-looking baroque climax without breaking sweat and marries deft precision with the ferocious playing of a man possessed. In interview, Nauendorf commented that 'the guitar picked him' and there are times when it seems less an instrument than a wild force being wrestled into submission.

In harnessing it, he commands the whole body of the guitar – knocking on its sides to create a death rattle for Ghost Town or gripping it to bend and distort the last ringing notes of a song.

It's such powerful stuff that it would be easy to neglect his voice – a distinctive, gutsy instrument which inhabits every note. While his guitar drives forward, his voice turns up the earth of the past.

When he covers Dylan's Things Have Changed, he takes the bible-black, thin-lipped cynicism of a much older man and makes it uncannily his own. Dylan's song, in fact, sounds like a Nauendorf song. It's one of many high points in a night of consistent altitude which showed that the radar of the Blues Festival organisers is one to be trusted.

All credit to JonnoPromotions for bringing Nauendorf back for more.

Derrin Nauendorf at the Centenary Centre, by Liz Corlett

Derrin Nauendorf was clearly the stand out of the three shows I was lucky enough to attend. I was impressed by the relatively young age (too often Blues shows are made up exclusively of the over 50's) who were treated to a simply spell-binding performance from Derrin. Disappointingly short in length (I could have sat there all night), Derrin's vocals instantly set the hairs on the back of my neck on end and he proceeded to 'somehow' create sounds, with both his guitar and feedback, that I have never heard before (and would not have even the slightest clue how they were being fashioned). STUNNING! I was simply in awe from start to finish as Derrin played us spine-tingling songs from his recent live album (including my personal favourite 'Queensland'), songs from previous albums I'd not even heard (certainly have now) and a few well thought out and brilliantly performed covers (his version of Tom Waits 'Get Behind The Mule') simply has to be experienced to be believed. A really friendly, intimate atmosphere throughout (Chris' idea to bring all the chairs closer to the stage was a stroke of genius) saw Derrin banter with the crowd and acquaint us with a few amusing anecdotes between songs which were warmly received - to be honest even if he had hurled abuse at us he would have been applauding all night as his songs, and his performance of those songs, were just so ineffably good. I'm certainly now a fan for life after this performance... if any of you get the chance to see Derrin live do not pass it up; your life will be all the fuller because of it.

Darren Howells

Following a successful stint in the United Kingdom, acoustic roots genius Derrin Nauendorf returns home, performing alongside gifted percussionist David downing at the Barwon club as part of their inaugural Australian tour.

It is a welcome return for Nauendorf who has evolved into one the nation’s most revered musicians. His music, a melting pot of roots ingredients ranging from country blues to folk, while incorporating several original compositions. It is an impeccable amalgamation of commanding acoustic guitar, and powerful yet articulate vocals, the addition of the moody synergy of Downing’s percussion making for an eclectic delight, that only those in the United Kingdom have yet had the chance to saviour.

It would be a misconception to believe that Nauendorf has always had it there for the taking, for rather such achievements are solely a result of persistence and belief.

A sheer musical genius, Nauendorf should not be missed: he exudes talent, passion, and a raw natural ability that rivals the world’s finest.

Cameron Nation, Forte, Australia

Major hit of the night was Australian-born Derrin Nauendorf, who gives a whole new meaning to the word acoustic. Augmented by highly original percussion from David Downing's cut-down drum kit (seemingly made from 1950s aluminium kitchen pots), his dynamic, restless performance was stunning. Every note counted, from full-on vocals and sonic percussive pulls and slaps to tiny acoustic guitar accents and bendy harmonics. Delegates were spotted moshing to a crashing, driving, ear-bleeding acoustic/drums version of Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile with extraordinary pregnant pauses and freefalling syncopation which segued into Are You Experienced (cue appreciative laughter from the more venerable audience members). The set culminated with a sneakily quiet riff-introduced powerhouse end and a standing ovation. Folkies ... illiberal tankard-swilling fossils? I think not!

Mel McClellan, BBC Radio 2 Website

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