An exhibition of photos by Merri Cyr of Jeff Buckley opened at Blender Gallery in Sydney this evening. If you’re a Jeff Buckley fan or have an appreciation for portraiture it’s well worth a visit. They’re on show till June 5th.

I haven’t given him much thought in recent years but i was a Jeff Buckley nut as a teenager. I bought Grace when it came out in 1994 (i was 14) and it still stands as one of my favourite ever albums. I saw him play at the Enmore on his last tour here in 1996. I read the bio’s and watched the doco’s. I collected all the bootlegs i could get my hands on. When i visited New York i did my own little mini-tour of all the venues he used to play. I was a bit of a Buckley tragic.

Merri Cyr’s portraits of Jeff are beautiful in their candidness and intimacy and play a big part of the Buckley mythology. If you own Live at Sin-é, Grace or Sketches, then you’ll be familiar with her work. Jeff obviously trusted her and i imagine she relished the opportunity to photograph him.

She was at the gallery opening tonight, but i was reticent to say hello. She was already crowded by enough fanboys as it was. But i would love to pick her brain.

Here’s an article by Merri Cyr from The Guardian and here’s some Buckley videos from youtube. He sure was pretty.

Talking about his time playing small venues around New York.

Performing The Way Young Lovers Do, live at Sin-e.

So Real music video.

Related Posts

• Joan as Policewoman