May the hats go off all the way and the bows allow noses to grind against the gravel, because Sydney Festival have impressed above and beyond expectations.
Whilst wandering around Festival Village before the show, punters were accosted by the kinds of delights that one doesn’t usually expect from Hyde Park on a Friday afternoon: wine tasting, gourmet hot dogs, and a live spray-painting exhibition that took place on an Audi.
Sydney Festival’s solid foundation was its relaxed atmosphere, an event that exhibited a sense of absolute wonder and genuine uniqueness.
But, despite the gorgeous distractions supplied by the festival, the main attraction is always the astounding music program. In this case, the Circus Ronaldo tent welcomed a sold out performance from American indie musician Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall.
The audience hunkered down into the compact, stunning, and fantastically original venue. Circus Ronaldo is basically a real circus shrunk down to an intimate performance space, complete with a high-tapered, striped canvas roof, acrobatic swings, and uncomfortable benches.
The lights dimmed while the stage was all but bare, save for two microphones and a vertical piano at centre stage. When Power walked out, it was immediately clear that she was about to give a performance. Not a concert, but a bona fide performance.
Wearing performance blacks and with a new brunette haircut – vastly different to the spiky blonde that she sported during her visit to Australia last year – Power held a gorgeous guitar with the same grace and comfort as you would an old friend.
She walked to the centre of the stage and gave an unexpectedly warm smile. This was not the same performer as a couple of years ago – one that was concerned with every facet of the performance. Instead, this was Power in her emotional prime.
The good vibes were maintained throughout the performance, and the wholesomeness that accompanied this was well received. She joked, she cursed skinny jeans, and she sang ‘Single Ladies’ by Beyoncé.
Although her joyous and thankful attitude was appreciated, it was the music that had the crowd under her spell.
The performance began with the singer-songwriter launching into one of the many songs from her lucrative career. Even after over an hour, and at a self-described “sped up pace”, it felt like we were only going to get a glimmer of the full scale of the star’s music in one seating. There is simply too much goodness in her arsenal of nine records to satisfy a punter at the average-length concert.
Regardless of the fact that everyone wanted more, the crowd were given enough to keep the Power hunger at bay. On guitar, she was absolutely riveting, but on piano, she was equally quaint and heartbreaking.
On keys, the American songstress alternated between a bunch of ditzy chords as she laughed with the audience during ‘Can I Get A Witness?’ before launching into a state of focused heartbreak in ‘Good Woman’.
The fact that she could alternate between moods so fluidly and give new meaning and textures to her songs in a solo live setting was a testament to the singer’s abilities as a musician and a songwriter.
Songs that live on are the ones that can be reinterpreted, and when an artist is reinterpreting their own songs and still enthralling an audience, then you’ve got yourself a damn fine musician.
Without her band in tow, Power put on a fearless and overwhelmingly raw performance. When she left the stage, she left in a fit of glory. Not the kind of glory that accompanies a gladiatorial win, but one that is assuring of her status as being in the top tier of contemporary female performers.
