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Joanna Newsom was a bit intrigued about coming to Canberra. When she and her backing band flew in, the security guard looked at her ticket and said You’re not going there, are you? It’s like watching grass grow! Luckily for her packed out audience at the Playhouse, Joanna Newsom was willing to take the risk, and put on a lovely evening of music in a city she refers to as – œ very interesting…. not in a bad way! ’

Newsom’s support act was a young man called M. Craft, who is actually a Canberran by birth, known for being a founding member of rock band Sidewinder in the 90’s and is now the rhythm guitarist for Jarvis Cocker in the UK. He was joined by friend Michelle, who did some backup vocals and played the keyboard, affectionately referred to by Craft as – œ Mr Yamaha ’, as it was a stand in for a drummer- sadly no solo. He started off the set well with Susie and Me , a ballad about two people who are – œ just friends, usually ’, but many of his songs just didn’t seem to hit the mark, and there was a bit of tuning and uncertainty here and there. We all love to see a Canberran succeed, but M.Craft’s brand of acoustic folk/pop had it’s hits and misses.

There was a resounding cheer when Joanna Newsom took to the stage after the intermission. The crowd hushed as she began plucking at her harp, and after a few songs her full accompaniment took to the stage. For this tour, she had two violins, a trumpet, trombone, drums and guitar behind her, and this helped escalate her music to another level as she played tracks from her first two albums, the Milk Eyed Mender and Ys, and some new tunes from her upcoming release Have One On Me, due out next month.

This Australian set of tours was the first in a few years for Newsom, and she giggled that – œ_I can’t remember what I used to do between songs_ .’ Not that she had anything to worry about, her stage presence and charisma were obvious, as she outshone the colourful light display behind her. There was a camaraderie between Newsom and her bandmates, as well as her and the audience as she was perfectly happy to chat. Needless to say when she left the stage after The Book of Right-On, everyone wanted her back.

She made the audience wait for an encore, but no-one left before she’d played her last song and said her goodbyes, and were slow to leave even once the house lights were up! The atmosphere had been so relaxed and enjoyable that the theatre actually had to turn the lights in the lobby off to get people to go home. Her second album Ys was included in the book 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die and she’s worth seeing perform live before you die too, as her unique sound and cheery demeanor made for a very enjoyable night at the theatre.

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