The congregation is silently ushered down the carpeted aisles into the hardwood pews. A handsome young denim and leather-clad Melbournian sings tales of grief and sorrow accompanied by a crisp electric guitar.
The man in question, Alexander Gow stands alone on the candlelit alter of the 200-year-old cathedral comfortably preaching his sermon under the watchful eye of life-sized crucifixion. Oh Mercy’s front man delivers an intimate and surreal performance worthy of the stunning venue.
A brief and welcome interlude follows as numb bums and sore backs are stretched and massaged before a lonely Beth Orton appears. We hear her soft feminine voice and Londoner accent before we see her frail frame and she looks slightly travel weary.
A nasty bout of the flu saw her cancel a number of shows throughout Europe but she has bravely made it to Perth to kick off her Heavenly Sounds tour.
Orton instantly comes across charming and pleasant and has the audience’s love from the start. She chats with the audience like old friends and is gentle and sincere throughout the performance.
Completely unsupported for the entire show, she tunes her own instruments and conducts her own sound check, at times struggling with the workload. She makes light of it, has a laugh about her imperfections and gets on with the show.
There is no doubt that she is out of sorts but she pushes on through a near two hour set regardless, stopping and restarting songs where a string is slightly out of tune or the vocals not spot on. Her voice is struggling but still beautiful and the audience is sympathetic and forgiving and love her all the more for it.
Due to the acoustics and perhaps the spirituality of the cathedral, the well-behaved audience is nearly dead silent throughout the entire performance. Other than a quiet applause between songs, a pin drop could be heard; amazingly not even one mobile phone rings, perhaps the Lord’s work?
Orton plays through her new material though it is her earlier works that really shine. In particular 90s hits “Stolen Car”, “Central Reservation” and “She Cries Your Name”. There seems to be more moodiness, internal conflict and darkness in the “old songs”, or maybe its just nostalgia. These earlier songs are enhanced by the ancient arches and stain glass windows. Indeed, Orton points out one of the intricate windows, exclaiming that it is more beautiful than the others and has caught her eye all evening.
Not that there is anything wrong with the new album, indeed they are all great songs, but they are happy songs, and happy songs should be played in happy places like festivals and pubs, not these halls of sin and confession.
The extremely humble singer makes a heartfelt effort to personalise her performance for the Perthites, talking to the audience about her sightseeing around the city and making a few self confessed lame observations about Australians. The banter is well received and has the audience smiling.
Her guitar work has not suffered due to her six-year hiatus from touring, travel fatigue or flu. Her rapidly arpeggiated chords resonate beautifully throughout the open chapel. In between songs she jokingly discusses her guitars with the audience like they are two naughty little children who often get jealous of each other, causing one another to go out of tune in order to win her affections.
A tough performance for Orton but she pulls it off like the seasoned veteran that she is. Far from perfect, the audience appreciate her efforts and do not go away disappointed. Indeed it is Orton’s imperfections that make the show memorable. The rest of the nation is in for a treat indeed as she settles in to the groove and and continues her holy pilgrimage across the Nullarbor.
