Opening act, singer-song writer Genevieve Chadwick, kicked things off nicely with her earthy, personable take on the blues.
Solo and acoustic, using only a foot stomp effect pedal to keep the beat like a drum, she proceeded to impress and charm those arriving for this sold out show.
Imagine if Janis Joplin and John Lee Hooker had a baby together; musically, this girl would be the offspring of that union. Chadwick was a class act and a great way to start proceedings.
Born in Antigua and raised in England, singer-song writer Joan Armatrading has been making music for the better part of four decades.
While touching on many genres, such as blues and rock, the unifying quality that all of her music possesses is a candid and honest view of what it is like to be a woman making her way in the world.
Sometimes, listening to her music feels like eavesdropping on a conversation or reading a diary, such is the fearless and open quality of her work. She is truly a feminist icon for many of the audience who were in attendance.
Backed by a four-piece band, tonight was a real treat for long-time faithful fans. Opening with the truly beautiful “Down To Zero”, off her 1976 self-titled album, followed by one of her best-known songs, “Show Some Emotion”, this promised to be a warm and satisfying night of intelligent, graceful music.
The night wasn’t without some small teething problems, which later became clear when Armatrading explained that this was the first show of the tour to the audience.
During the splendid “Love And Affection”, there was a highly cheesy and out of place saxophone solo, one that took the listener out of the beauty that the song created.
Also, Armatrading and the band leant heavily on material from the new album, Starlet, during the set. While the album and new songs are of a strong and enjoyable quality, a vast section of the audience was hearing this material for the first time; as a result, the much needed connection wasn’t immediately there.
There were however, some moments of sheer, absolute beauty. “The Weakness In Me”, which featured in the 1999 teen film 10 Things I Hate About You and, inadvertently, introduced Ms Armatrading to a whole new generation, was a heart stopping, beautiful moment. You could of heard a pin drop as this was being performed.
Onstage, Armatrading had a very droll and dry sense of humour, such as asking for suggestions from the audience before cheekily adding she and the band weren’t going to perform any of them.
Thankfully, this wasn’t the case, prompting the band to launch into “All The Way From America”, from the Me, Myself I album, released in 1980.
The new material really benefitted from its live reinterpretation. Songs like “Single Life”, “Close To Me” and “A Woman In Love” slotted in solidly next to her more well-known material.
The set closers “(I Love It When You) Call Me Names” and particularly, “Me Myself I”, had the crowd singing along and that strong sense of connection between audience and artist was now firmly in place.
The latter track in particular really introduced Ms Armatrading to Australian audiences. Over 30 years later, it is still a standout of her long and illustrious career, with its buzz saw guitar riff and striking writing and vocals.
“Drop The Pilot” was an astute choice of encore. Armatrading seemed genuinely moved and pleased by the audience response that awaited her at the end of the evening.
