It was only a few short weeks ago that
I was first introduced to Lisa Mitchell, via the adorable video
of ‘Coin Laundry’. I have to say I was quite stunned when I went on
to discover she had managed a near sell-out tour of the country at the
same time. Well boys and girls, it seems that someone who has had the
misfortune of appearing on Australian Idol has gone onto making
it on their own! It does help, mind you, that she’s ridiculously talented
and… ahem… UNIQUE. A word never before used with anything Idol
related.
I arrived slightly late, so missed
White Birds & Lemons, but I heard good things – and their name
certainly felt appropriate for the evening. Thankfully, I arrived just
in time to catch Sherlock’s Daughter, filling in for Oh Mercy
who had to drop out of the tour. It would be fair to say that the Sydney
band have become quite accustomed to the Metro stage of late – supporting
Metric a couple of days prior, and Lisa Mitchell again just before that.
The result was a band who took control of the stage with pure confidence
and talent overflowing at the seams.
There was a strong drum presence in
the set, which I found reminiscent at times of the stylings of The Mess
Hall’s Cec Condon. Lead singer Tanya Horo was a delight, and the rest
of the band helped produce some pretty gorgeous music – one song of
which was reminiscent of Flock of Seagulls “I Ran”. I can’t
recommend this band highly enough, they simply put a smile on the faces
of everyone in the room, and I was no exception.
Lisa Mitchell followed to thunderous
applause from a patient and respectful crowd, eager to hear tracks from
her debut LP Wonder, while hanging on her every word in the interim.
The set began, oddly (yet appropriately) enough with Lisa playing a
Kazoo, ushering the rest of the band on stage in Pied Piper fashion.
The set which followed moved quickly
through a long setlist, for a crowd who clearly showed they had their
favourites. This included tracks like “Stevie” and of course
“Coin Laundry” which finished out the main set. They applauded
and sung loudly when they wanted to, but the crowd actually listened,
entranced in her performance, the rest of the time. Always a great thing
to see from the Sydney crowds. Unfortunately too rare.
With a stage adorned in forest carnival
attire, there was a fun atmosphere from the get-go. But once you throw
in Lisa’s Bjork-meets-Fiest “cuteness” and talent, it was
a show where you just couldn’t go wrong – you had a smile on your face
the entire performance, and couldn’t help but feel all warm and gooey
inside in the process. She should definitely stick to her own material,
however, with a cover of Dire Strait’s “Romeo and Juliet”
falling a bit flat compared to her own material. Possibly just a bit
too “romantically mature” for someone who generally performs
tracks which appear quite innocent – at least on the surface.
While the music was indeed lovely,
the party atmosphere never faltered, and the show ended with all the
bands returning to the stage for “Neapolitan Dreams”, with
the crowd chanting “I like the way that you talk, I like the way
that you walk” until the lights returned, and we all made our way
to the exit. Still warm and gooey.
