/karen/

It’s time to begin

Sunday, 27 May, 2007

So Katie Noonan was superlative on Wednesday night! I had worked at MM until 4 and then gone over to CASE and left a little later than I should have. The bus queue at UNSW was ridiculous so on a whim I jumped on the bus to Circular Quay and got out at St James, then caught the train from there. I'm not sure if it saved me any time. I got home later than I had planned, went to pick up Rosey and then parked in Newtown and met Elsie at Thai La Ong. It was good that the two of them, who had never met before, got along real well.

I had been told by a guy at The Vanguard that if you wanted to get a good position for General Admission, to show up at 7:45. We were a little later than that (plus we were trying to get photos of ourselves outside so that took a little while). The front row of the upstairs gallery was reserved and the second rows were also filled already but we managed to get three very decent seats along the wall on the left hand side facing the stage. We sat there for a while—speculating about Lonely Guy in the restaurant below who had a table all to himself and was eating by himself (does he like to eat alone? Did he get stood up? Why is he playing with his phone?) and listened to a bit of music on my MP3 player (I introduced Elsie and Rosey to Neko Case and Alison Krauss—neither of whom they liked [too country?]).

The support act were the Darryl Beaton band who were quite funky but unoriginal: they had a bit of Herbie Hancock, a bit of Stevie Wonder, a bit of Maroon 5, a bit of Motown, and so they were quite easy on the ears but they weren't innovative or interesting, just good background music. Elsie disagrees with me on this though (isn't it funny how two people can listen to the same music and not hear the same things ...)

Just before Katie and her band came on stage (and her band also included Darryl Beaton on keys), the people who owned the reserved seats came out. By chance, Katie's mum Maggie ended up sitting right next to us. We got to chatting and she was a very lovely friendly woman who was quite happy to let us talk to her about the album she did with Katie (Two of a Kind), what Tyrone was doing, Katie's work, etc. She said Katie's latest album would be out in August and that it was unfortunate it was taking so long.

And then Katie came on stage and did a set for about one and a half hours. I'd heard her do pop before with George and jazz with Elixir and opera with her mum, but this was the first time I'd ever heard her do soul/funk/r&b/acid jazz. She had a four piece band (which did not include Felix, unfortunately) and two backup singers with her and they sounded absolutely fantastic. Most of the stuff was new (from her forthcoming album, Skin) and I have to say I really liked it—especially the song she did about who you are at the end of the day, the one dedicated about her sons, the one dedicated to her husband (which wasn't mushy or lovey dovey at all) and the one she dedicated to her parents at the very end. But she also did a Cold Chisel cover (“Choirgirl”), Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah” (performed very differently to how she did it at the Opera House last year—very slow and mellow and just sublime), “Special Ones” from George (which works surprisingly well in soul) and “Breathe in Now” also from George which she did accompanying herself on keyboard.

I love how she puts so much of herself into her singing. Her whole body moves with the music and she's a pleasure to watch—never static, never boring. It was a great contrast to her other backup singer who, at times, looked a little ill at ease at being on stage. She wore this gorgeous black satin dress with a red bolero jacket over the top. And, as always, her singing was flawless: she never missed a note, she retained total control over her pitch and tone, and she wasted none of her breath. She sang songs about such simple things—her sons, her husband, home, love—but it wasn't corny or trivial or completely superficial like some of Avril Lavigne's lyrics. And she gave so much to her audience, thanking them for being patient with her as she was singing so much new material and it was hard to take in. She didn't expect us to worship her like Greg Dulli did, and at the very end, many people gave her a standing ovation.

Here are some photos:

She's playing at The Factory on Friday 22nd June. It clashes with Women's Fellowship, otherwise I'd go. There's also a YouTube video on there of her newest single, “It's Time to Begin”, which, in my opinion, was the most boring song of all the new material she did. But you can make up your own mind; don't let me listen for you.

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