When did Xavier Rudd acquire so many fans? Or, more to the point, when did he acquire such gravitas? Tonight, as he steps on stage and showers the crowd with some grungy, Neil Young-style distorted slide guitar, he’s a bona fide rock star.

He is enthusiastically received, too, playing a mixture of material from his latest album, Dark Shades of Blue, mixed with some gentler, older tracks, such as the ever-popular Messages (which inspires a hearty sing-along).

But while his stage presence is more impressive than ever – he even gets out from behind the rack of didgeridoos for a few tracks – he still indulges in some of the excesses of the roots genre, including extended instrumental solos with running political commentary (about George Bush, John Howard, Peter Garrett, the Sea Shepherd …) and an obligatory ten-minute percussion jam that is more wearying than energising.

At least he knows where to pay his dues: one of the many covers that litters his set is Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World. By the time his epic set closes with Let Me Be, I’m all rootsed-out; his hardcore fans, though, leave the theatre grinning from ear to ear.

Words by Chad Parkhill of Rave Magazine

Photos by Kylie Keene for The Dwarf