Abbe May seems to be supporting everyone at the moment. She is inescapable, whether solo or playing with her bands Abbe May and the Rockin’ Pneumonia or the newly formed The Devil and Abbe May. No one is complaining as her performances in all formats are stunning time and time again. Thursday night saw her solo, luring all who’d filled the Fly By Night Club into her sexy blues which had them spellbound in their seats. Alone she gave a more bare bones performance, focused mostly on her commanding voice with other additions like the ukulele and whistling. The crowd cheered…and Emiliana Torrini probably summarised her best by stating “she was fucking amazing”.

Sweet, charming, effervescent, funny and delightfully honest; these are just some qualities that make Emiliana Torrini a natural entertainer. Unlike other singer-songwriters who can come across dreary and downcast, although some of Torrini’s songs are undoubtedly heart-wrenching, her on-stage persona was anything but. She presented as nervously giggly with a penchant for self-disclosure of embarrassing stories. Her main drawcard was how real she seemed – she wasn’t trying to act cool or play a part, she was obviously just joyously sharing her music and enjoying the fact it enables her to come to places like Australia where the sun shines more than in her home of Iceland.

A seated venue can be a bit dubious as it can sometimes put a dampener on crowd participation. Because of Torrini’s comedic personality she lent herself to the venue well as it did feel like she was there to entertain us, and it meant more chance of everyone being able to see the stage. It must be said it would have been nice to sing-a-long without feeling like you were distracting others in such a hushed environment. One lady up the back risked embarrassment (or was inebriated enough not to care) but the rest of us were resigned to sighs of joy when our favourites came on and loud applause at their conclusion.

Torrini traded quirky anecdotes between songs which had the audience go from fits of laughter to solemn captivation. The first half of the set consisted mainly of songs from her album Fisherman’s Woman including Heartstopper, the hauntingly beautiful Lifesaver, Today Has Been Ok, and the song that is apparently about falling in love but being too busy for it, making your loved one want to “shoot you in the kneecaps”, Sunny Road. The next half of the set showcased her new album Me and Armini which allowed the audience to see how her songwriting has diversified from the more sweet and simple songs that came before.

Her new, livelier material seemed to gel more with her personality rather than “just” being beautiful songs. The positivity and optimism of Big Jumps was followed by the more spiteful Ha Ha to the more laidback almost dub infused Me and Armini. Jungle Drums was a definite highlight as it captivated Torrini’s quirky and fun-loving nature. Also a highlight was the sexy sounding Gun which saw her band play a more direct role with the repetitive guitar lick giving a more rock edge complemented by Torrini’s seductive breath and clicks. The complex rhythms of Heard It All Before led to the band and Torrini leaving the stage to foot stamping of the audience. After coming quickly back on stage and joking that they really didn’t know where to go to hide, they launched into Nothing Brings Me Down, Sea People and Beggar’s Prayer.

Apart from one cynical punter stating he didn’t think the encore was as exceptional as the main event, the evening was one of musical beauty and comical entertainment.

Photos by timdavis