CMW Live: The Audreys THE DAKOTA TAVERN – MARCH 6 - by James Sandham - "This is how we do country in Australia," the Audreys' lead vocalist, Taasha Coates, told the crowd. Her band then launched into what could have been a late-career John Martyn cover — all breathy vocals and slow, sensual bass lines (delivered courtesy of Lyndon Gray on his upright) — but with banjo. This is how the Aussies do country? I dunno — maybe something's been lost in translation. Not that it was a bad show. Coates is one impeccably dressed fox, and she held the Dakota's limited but dedicated crowd of fans in total sway. The fact that the audience was ninety per cent male might have had something to do with that, but her pitch-perfect vocals were no doubt a factor. When the show was done I left feeling ambivalent. The Audreys are clearly talented instrumentalists, and Coates no doubt has some great pipes. But for a band that's won the ARIA Award for Best Blues & Roots Album, I guess I was expecting something, I don't know, a little more bluesy and rootsy. What was delivered instead was more in the vain of lounge music, but with banjo occasionally added. But what do you expect? These bastards hail from a country founded by outlaws. So you know no matter what genre they call themselves, they'll still be breakin' all the rules.