It’s becoming increasingly obvious that folk musicians have one of the hardest jobs in terms of making it in the live scene. On one hand, there is the stereotypical thought of a boy or girl standing on stage with a guitar, strumming away and hardly tapping a toe which might have fans of live music simply not wanting to go further than listening to the record. On the other hand, there are performers like Krista Polvere, who are just that – performers. Polvere’s beautiful new record Here Be Dragons is in itself a perfect example of the girl’s captivating storytelling and musicianship, but it is the stage where she is truly in her element.
The country rock sounds of Rushcutter opened the stage of the Toff in Town for Polvere, and showed off their abilities to perform as one hell of tight four piece, complete with awesome three to four voice harmonies and driving electric guitar that shadowed the acoustic base. The only thing letting these nice young chaps down was the incessant affectation of vocals, which seemed to come around in every verse. Most importantly though, the lads demonstrated and warmed up the incredible acoustics of the Toff itself. The sound quality of the tiny theatre was at its best and didn’t wane for the whole night.
The greatest thing about Krista Polvere – which was noticeable from the first strum of her guitar – is that she doesn’t settle for simply recreating her album onstage. Let’s Go and Trust Me Now were the first examples of this, whereby Polvere increased the volume and energy of her songs to create a much rockier performance than many would have expected. Her band The Blacklist surrounded her and helped with the majority of the amplification, providing keys with a variety of variations, electric guitars and bass, and percussion.
Polvere definitely knew how to deliver this intensity by herself though, with the “stripped back” When I Want You still clutching at the rock side of things despite the band not being as overtly involved. A comparison between live style can be drawn between Polvere and Leslie Feist, as whilst the two have different sounds, their music is perceived gentle in recorded form, yet is livened up and made a great deal more powerful on stage (both audibly and visually) and this is what separates the good folk performers from the great ones.
Subtle moments did manage to creep into the set here and there and provided perfect occasions for the mostly seated Toff crowd to take in Polvere’s haunting vocalisations and lyricism. Crying Out Loud, for instance saw her accompaniment become primarily acoustic guitar, hence showcasing her voice alone, and again at the end of the set, In The Dark took a reduced pace that allowed Polvere to experiment with a more sultry approach. These moments provided for the greatest appreciation of the venue’s sound – without the volume being key, the rich acoustics of the sound could be taken in. Yet these gentler sections always rose toward the power and intensity which made the show so entertaining. Striving for that impact Polvere broke strings on her guitar – apparently something she knew was going to happen – as well as resorting to electric organ and one hell of a rock tambourine to climax what had been a laid back closer.
Polvere and her band of merry men certainly know how to put on a live performance that gets some attention. As an album launch, Polvere certainly set a good example of the quality to expect, with her outstanding vocals and storytelling being prime reasons to reccomend you get a copy of Here Be Dragons in your libary.
