The final show for Laura Imbruglia’s national tour to support the release of her third album What a Treat was quite simply, a real treat.
In an industry saturated with Auto-Tuned poppets, Melbourne-based/Sydney-born Imbruglia is a refreshing antidote to every cringe-worthy love song stinking up the airwaves with clichéd, meaningless sentiment, dressed in a pair of ugly hotpants.
Imbruglia shakes her booty with songwriting that actually examines the real universality of love and loss. On stage, dressed in jeans and a cowgirl shirt, she’s loveable, dorky, fragile and a little bit fierce – the perfect persona to deliver an evening of alt-country songs about heartbreak that are both funny and sad.
The crowd support for the talented performer was palpable in the grungy Tote band room, and gig-goers were enthralled right from the start of the show.
A very capable full band backed Imbruglia, including some pedal steel accompaniment. It’s a wonderful instrument with vibrating strings that moodily captures the hootenanny glee experienced when courting a new lover, all the way to the sad vibrato when the cracks start to appear and it all goes to the hay.
The third song of the evening (the unsettlingly titled “Incest”) saw a few movers and shakers on the dance floor. But it wasn’t all a hoedown – the music transitioned easily between her signature alt-country to indie rock and a bit of pop.
The most touching moment of the night was when the band left the stage and support act Melodie Nelson appeared to provide backing vocals for “Don’t”, a soulful acoustic number from 2010’s The Lighter Side Of…
The vocals were so gorgeous that the punters fell silent, allowing the sound to wrap them up in a warm, comforting blanket of musical awesomeness. Not even the clinking of a beer glass could be heard. Nobody moved.
When the song finished there was a somber silence; then somebody yelled, “fuck yeah” which pretty much encapsulated what everyone was thinking in one simple phrase.
The set was broken up well with a good mix of darker and lighter moments.
The cheery and upbeat lead single “Awoooh”; a satirical take on the animalistic nature of crushing out on someone (Imbruglia turns into a werewolf in the film clip), was a real crowd pleaser. And the drinking anthem ‘Straight To The Bar’ had everyone jigging about in a drunken splendor.
A sing-along and harmonica completed the evening, courtesy of some special guests: Fraser A Gorman, Laura Jean, and Bob Harrow from Immigrant Union.
Bob, who’d spent the whole set manically whipping up a storm on the dance floor – beard flailing – confessed that he’d been listening to What a Treat “twice daily”.
Just about every feeling and experience one encounters when navigating romantic relationships was covered during the night – all that awkward, embarrassing, weird shit that feels like it’s only happening in painful isolation, but really happens to everyone.
And what better way to move on, heal and not feel so alone, by toe-tapping to a musical artist who can capture the madness, messiness and marvel of love so beautifully.
