GIG: PERRY KEYES

If Sydney were to have a poster-boy, you wouldn’t immediately think of softly spoken singer-songwriter Perry Keyes. Yet his songs ranging over the albums Meter (2005), The Last Ghost Train Home (2007) and Johnny Ray’s Downtown (2010) sweep up the ephemera of inner-city living. “I like to sing about things that help create a sense of community. Like the old Easter Show, the Speedway; the way these very simple things helped bring people to a place where they did things together,” says Keyes. The Friends series at the Opera House similarly brings people together – including Dave McCormack and Tim Freedman – along with archival and current footage of what Keyes describes as, “The type of Sydney I seem to mention in my songs.” You’ll see Luna Park, Wedding Cake Island, and even South Sydney rugby league captain John Sattler makes an appearance in The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw. Sattler himself sat in a performance of the ditty, “He was really sweet about it!” says Keyes. It’s particularly a Sydney of Keyes’ youth – born and bred in Redfern, Keyes now lives in Waterloo.  It’s an area that has witnessed a lot of change over the past few decades. “In a way it’s a lot more sophisticated the way people interact with each other [now],” says Keyes, “but at the same time there has been something lost. There was less suspicion and fear.” But when asked if Sydney is his muse, Keyes demurs. “I tend to place myself in a certain geography, but that’s just what I know the most. If I was going to mention the name of a street, I’d rather use a real name. My songs come more from a sense of class-consciousness, it’s more the type of people I write about.” Finally, someone to tell the story of Sydney, its citizens and streets alike.

Jul 24-25, The Studio @ Sydney Opera House, $19-49, 9250 7777, sydneyoperahouse.com