Laura Imbruglia, Houlette,Nick Huggins @ The BirminghamHotel, Melbourne (24/04/2010)

Mon 3rd May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Promoting the release of her latest album, The Lighter Side Of, Laura Imbruglia put on an entertaining show at the Birmingham Hotel. While the turn out wasn’t perhaps as big as she would have liked, Imbruglia certainly impressed with a nice mix of new and old songs.

While the crowd was slightly thin, Nick Huggins provided an interesting opening set of atmospheric guitars and laidback folk songs. Huggins produced Imbruglia’s latest album as well as the latest effort from other supporting band Houlette.

The next support came appropriately from Houlette, otherwise known as Felicity Cripps backed by guitar and violin. While their harmonies showed an obvious level of musicianship, it seemed the music wasn’t quite suited to the Birmingham on a Saturday night. The mood tended to slow down a little too much. Cripps, however, did extremely well to play out the set considering her ill health, dealing with a mild bout of pneumonia.

With the backing of a full band, Imbruglia brought the energy to the night that had been lacking from previous supports. Opening with the last track off her latest album Terrible Disease, the song began slowly but exploded with the whole band charging in, the perfect mix of Imbruglia’s sweet side and her punk influences.

The relaxed atmosphere on stage mirrored that of the crowd and lended itself to a more intimate gig. Minor mistakes were met with laughs and grins from the band members, making it a more enjoyable experience for the crowd. Often it is these sort of moments that can get lost on a regular punter but Imbruglia’s interaction with the crowd certainly made those present feel like they were all in the gig together.

Undoubtedly the biggest highlight was when special guest Davey Lane, guitar maestro from The Pictures and You Am I, graced the stage to play lead guitar on new track When It All Falls Apart. There’s no question that Lane brought an extra spark and professionalism to the performance that lifted Imbruglia and the rest of her band to close out a strong set with a cover of Sister Golden Hair by English-American folk band America.

The most refreshing thing about Laura Imbruglia is her voice. It seems at the moment that Australia’s most popular female voices are dominated by cutesy accents that grow irritating rather quickly. Imbruglia’s voice is sweet but has that punk tinge that makes her songs more interesting than your run of the mill singer songwriter. Her talent as a fantastic live performer also allows for a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment.