Martha Wainwright@Forum Theatre, April 13 2006
I was lucky enough to see Martha Wainwright and her band in concert a few nights ago. After hearing all the rave reviews about the handful of shows that Martha played in Melbourne last year, I was definitely keen to see what she would be like. And like the Corner Hotel, the Forum Theatre is definitely one of my favourite venues - for both sentimental and practical reasons.
The show opened with a beautiful version of the lilting "Factory", followed by "When The Day Is Short". Wainwright and her 3-piece band whipped through most of the material featured on her one and only record to date, such as "Ball and Chain" and "G.T.P", whilst the usually subdued "This Life" was actually the number that got most people up the front and dancing around. The band also played a handful of new tracks which hopefully means that a new record might soon be in the pipeline. And their makeshift version of Leonard Cohen's "Ruled By Fire" was brilliant, even with the lyrics hanging off the microphone stand. For someone who seems to drift off into her own little world while performing, Wainwright's rapport with her band is obvious and you'd think that she's been in the music business for a lot longer than she actually has.
The main set was concluded by the anguished and defiant "Bloody Mother F***ing A**hole" - a song which could well be as therapeutic for the listener as it is for the singer? Wainwright was joined by her bass player and producer, Brad Albetta on "Bring Back My Heart" and I don't know if I'm alone in saying this, but her sibling's absence on this number wasn't felt at all. The night ended with "Dis, Quand Reviendras-Tu?" and I think the image of Martha standing in the eery spotlight with microphone in one hand and clasping her hair in the other will be stuck in my head for a while ... all I need to do now is find a translation of the darn song.
Wainwright is easily one of the most expressive, affecting and endearing performers I've ever seen. It's not often that someone walks onto a stage and emotionally hands themselves over to the audience for the whole show. At times, you almost feel that you're seeing (and being given) something you're not entitled to. Yet at the same time she's relaxed and jocular, happy to engage in banter with the (clearly adoring) crowd in between songs. All I can say is that I hope she makes the 20-hour trip back here again, very soon.
The show opened with a beautiful version of the lilting "Factory", followed by "When The Day Is Short". Wainwright and her 3-piece band whipped through most of the material featured on her one and only record to date, such as "Ball and Chain" and "G.T.P", whilst the usually subdued "This Life" was actually the number that got most people up the front and dancing around. The band also played a handful of new tracks which hopefully means that a new record might soon be in the pipeline. And their makeshift version of Leonard Cohen's "Ruled By Fire" was brilliant, even with the lyrics hanging off the microphone stand. For someone who seems to drift off into her own little world while performing, Wainwright's rapport with her band is obvious and you'd think that she's been in the music business for a lot longer than she actually has.
The main set was concluded by the anguished and defiant "Bloody Mother F***ing A**hole" - a song which could well be as therapeutic for the listener as it is for the singer? Wainwright was joined by her bass player and producer, Brad Albetta on "Bring Back My Heart" and I don't know if I'm alone in saying this, but her sibling's absence on this number wasn't felt at all. The night ended with "Dis, Quand Reviendras-Tu?" and I think the image of Martha standing in the eery spotlight with microphone in one hand and clasping her hair in the other will be stuck in my head for a while ... all I need to do now is find a translation of the darn song.
Wainwright is easily one of the most expressive, affecting and endearing performers I've ever seen. It's not often that someone walks onto a stage and emotionally hands themselves over to the audience for the whole show. At times, you almost feel that you're seeing (and being given) something you're not entitled to. Yet at the same time she's relaxed and jocular, happy to engage in banter with the (clearly adoring) crowd in between songs. All I can say is that I hope she makes the 20-hour trip back here again, very soon.
posted by yossarian | 6:43 PM
3 Comments:
Great review yossarian, sounded like a fantastic experience! You can't go wrong with a venue like the Forum either...
i got goosebumps reading your review thinking about how great the show must've sounded, much in the same way i got goosebumps watching her sing on rockwiz...with the lovely dan!
great review! someone ought to tell that hack dwyer that this is how its done!
<3
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