To the uninitiated, the Melbourne Recital Centre may conjure up images of renowned classical recitalists who favour cello, piano, or violin; the venues hint at elegant sophistication, highbrow culture, an after-five dress code, and polite applause ringing through the auditorium at intervals – a place of immense veneration for both performers and appreciators of music alike.
So when KT Tunstall walks into the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall rocking a gold blazer and eye-catching sparkly gold pants, with a myriad of instruments that traditionally play any genre but classical, you are treated to one of life’s lessons: never presume anything.
The 38-year-old is back on Australian soil taking part in the Byron Bay’s Bluesfest, as well as taking on a bevy of sideshow tour dates.
The Brit award-winning, critically acclaimed fan-favourite certainly knows how to pack a punch in her live performance, and it is quite impossible to sit completely still in a music hall typically designed for chamber music.
With no support act, Tunstall gets stuck right into her hour-and-a-half long solo set that traverses several influences including roots, blues, rock, pop, and alt-country.
Opening the show is ‘Invisible Empire’ from her latest studio album, Invisible Empire// Crescent Moon.
Tunstall admits to a partiality for first tracks off her records, and it shows in this number as she stands centre stage, acoustic guitar in hand while her striking voice fills the room with an equal amount of vulnerability and strength.
Her latest offerings are undoubtedly more mellow than her previous, but they are also more personal, mature, and lyrically richer in content, making for a beautiful assault on the senses.
The next song ‘Carried’ introduces that brilliant contraption known as the loop pedal, which allows the singer-songwriter to bring an impressive full band sound to her live solo shows. Tapping her guitar, adding a shaker to the mix, and voila, she has her backbeat – which frees her up to play guitar and lure the audience in with her vocals again.
The artist’s past recordings were not to be neglected, with all four studio albums getting a look in.
Immediate applause comes in the opening bars of 2005 hit ‘Other Side Of The World’. ‘(Still A) Weirdo’ is well-received, although Tunstall momentarily forgets the words, while ‘Hold On’ incorporating The Bangles’ ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’, complete with Egyptian dance moves, goes down a treat.
No Tunstall performance is complete without the endearing lass enchanting the crowd with her special concoction of anecdotes and goofiness. She possesses a quick wit, the ability to spin a yarn that has the hall chuckling appreciatively, and the inability to keep all the fun to herself, frequently enlisting the help of the audience to make some sweet sweet music and turning them into mini beatbox champions.
While claiming to only play piano “a bit”, the musician gives stellar performances on the ivories as she delves into ‘Lost’ and ‘Yellow Flower’ – numbers that confirm just how understated her comment truly is, and how pure and raw her voice can be.
Cowgirl boot-stomping ‘Black Horse And The Cherry Tree’ injects a bit more verve into the set as Tunstall’s tambourine makes its entrance as the ‘newest band member’ and the loop pedal once again proves its invaluable worth.
Mid song, Tunstall whips out a kazoo and proceeds to segue into White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ to everyone’s utter delight, before smoothly returning to the song that first got her noticed back in 2004 on TV show Later… with Jools Holland.
The encore includes an impeccable pitch-perfect cover of Don Henley’s ‘Boys Of Summer’ and ends with the infectious, mood-lifting crowd favourite, ‘Suddenly I See’, to which is everyone is up on their feet and dancing. Yes, dancing in the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall. Such is the power of that crazy talented Scot, KT Tunstall.
Setlist
Invisible Empire
Carried
Other Side Of The World
Still A Weirdo
Saving My Face
Lost
Yellow Flower
Black Horse and The Cherry Tree/ Seven Nation Army snippet (White Stripes cover)
Feel It All
Universe and U
Alchemy
Default (Atoms For Peace cover)
Hold On / Walk Like An Egyptian snippet (The Bangles cover)
Chimes
Encore
Boys Of Summer (Don Henley cover)
Suddenly I See
