Little Birdy @ The OldMelbourne Gaol, Melbourne(14/10/2009)

Thu 15th Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

The second in a series of gigs titled Priceless Music hit Melbourne last night, the promoters deciding to up there game this time around, with a better band and a very, very cool venue of choice. Back in the day, if you’d wanted to see an execution or two, you’d head to the Old Melbourne Gaol (there were 135 all up). Nowadays you’re more likely to see tourists behind the stone walls – all the treacherous folk just roam the CBD a couple of hundred metres down the street. Either way, the Gaol isn’t exactly the first place you’d go looking for live music, yet by the end of Little Birdy’s performance there you’d wish you could more regularly.

For those unfamiliar with the layout of the Old Melbourne Goal, picture a long corridor, no wider than a city laneway. Each side is lined with stone walls and thick cell doors, as well as two further levels upwards, each with a walkway railing. The stage was set up at the far end as the crowd (of a few hundred) filed in, purchasing drinks (kind of ironically) from staff set up inside of a few cellblocks. Lights were rigged up all over the joint, soon to make their presence worthwhile in the opening number.

Katy Steele made no secret of the fact they were here to promote their latest LP, Confetti, walking out to perform the album’s title track almost entirely on her own. As the thump of the track began to belt down the stone corridor toward its end, the entire place lit up with the rows of lights pulsing right along the corridor – a great way to open the show.

Next came Summerize and proof that this show was going to be even more special, with the addition of The Wolfgram Sisters on backing vocals and, hidden up in the rafters, a live horn section to do real justice to the already lively track. From the jazzier style to rock to some straight up pop, C’mon C’mon and Tonight’s the Night followed – showing that Little Birdy weren’t going to omit the older favourites. Steele was as exuberant as ever, confidently strutting around the stage with her guitar like the show-woman she is.

Adding even more substance to the show, Steele introduced a string quartet that was to play on the walkway above the stage. Lit up above the band, the quartet stuck around for four tracks: Stay Wild, Everyone is Sleeping and Into My Arms – all off the new album – as well as Relapse, being the first time they’d performed the song with such accompaniment. The string section certainly gave a new element of class to the band, which was well suited to the soulful vibe of their latest batch of material and gave the last of the four tracks a nice new quality.

What remained of the set was a real mix of all three albums. The quirky Better Off Alone and acoustic guitar led Crazy followed, before the band’s signature track Beautiful To Me made its usual appearance, Steele opting to keep the microphone to herself mostly but still encouraging a sing along. The gentle double up blend of It Ain’t True / Run Run Run then finished the main set off. Not shy of having a cover amongst their set list, Little Birdy returned for a rendition of The Motels’ Total Control. Suited amongst the Confetti material, the cover was certainly to put Steele in the spotlight, her tender delivery making it a late highlight before the rockier Bodies finished things off, this time with Steele letting the inmates take its chorus away themselves.

By the end of the set two things were clear. One, it’s hard to be disappointed with a Little Birdy show – the band’s energy is really a convincing thing to have and tonight the addition of various musicians gave the show real power. Two, the Old Melbourne Gaol needs to host more events like this. It may not be a feasible hope, who knows, but the atmosphere of the place and even its sound quality were plain perfect.

Photos by Marty Philby.