The ultimate test for a musician who regularly plays with a band is to play the same songs by themselves, for an audience. For American singer-songwriter Holly Miranda this would have been doubly difficult considering her wonderfully layered and ambitious debut album The Magician’s Private Library; however armed with only a piano and an electric guitar (a beautifully elegant baby blue telecaster, which fellow guitarists would be equally jealous about) Ms Miranda pulled of a stunningly controlled yet intense set of originals and clever cover versions.

Miranda would have felt at home at New York themed bar/café Manhattans, however it was probably a good thing the stage was not within viewing distance of the large screen used to project movies on to. Guests were treated to (in silence) the 1968 film ‘classic’ The Girl on a Motorcycle, twice, only to then be followed by the disturbingly weird 1971 feature A Clockwork Orange. I can confirm that it is unsettlingly strange watching a musician perform while the screen to your left is showing a woman being murdered by a man wielding a giant penis. Apart from this Manhattans provided the perfect setting for the relatively low key gig, providing both comfort and cheap beer (easily the most important factors).

First support was the curious Rabbit Island (a.k.a. Amber Fresh), who played a both quiet and awkward set of sparse tunes. Failing to realise she was actually playing until I looked up at the stage, Fresh exuded a certain subtlety that many people would dismiss as amateurism; however upon closer listening was revealed as something quite different and fascinating. Moving between keyboard and guitar, Fresh seemed very uncomfortable on stage, only rarely acknowledging the audience at one point actually mumbling “you don’t have to clap.” Clearly unaware of the remarkable nature of her songs, Fresh simultaneously married interest with refinement, something that is very difficult to pull off.

The keyboard led My Own Private combined sparse chords with rising intensity, allowing Fresh to raise her vocals beyond the very slight level which they tended to sit at. Fresh also covered Antony & the Johnsons track Fistful of Love, which seemed oddly appropriate; Antony Hegarty being an artist who Fresh seemed to share common ground with. Perhaps too often Fresh fell into similar sounding lo-fi guitar songs, however she managed to pull herself out of that particular trap by changing it up just enough. The only disappointing part of her set was when she pulled out of a song early, a song that was built upon layered vocals and would have been the most interesting part of her set.

Second up was Perth based songstress Felicity Groom. Blending elements of folk, psychedelia and 90’s rock; Groom along with her band the Black Black Smoke played a supremely confident set of pleasing indie tunes. First song An Ache introduced Groom’s strong vocals, along with her penchant for sparse yet effective instrumentation. Moving from the acoustic guitar to an auto-harp for fourth song Paper Strings, Groom combined elements from many different genres to great effect; allowing different points of interest to be built up within each song.

Easily the strongest part of Groom’s set was her remarkably strong and confident vocals. Moving between different octaves with ease, Groom made impressive use of her falsetto to create interesting and arresting melodies. Groom continued on her minimalistic style in penultimate song New Years, before changing things up for set-closer Finders and Keepers; a new song which combined stop/start drums and fuzz guitar, which contrasted nicely with Groom’s continuous acoustic guitar. Ending on this high note, Felicity Groom played a pleasingly interesting set full of great tunes.

After a short intermission Holly Miranda took the stage immediately hushing the room (something Miranda found hard to push through between songs as the crowd didn’t really want to say anything, that is except for the guy who thought it was appropriate to yell “show us your tits”) as she embarked on seventeen song set of frankly beautiful music. Second song No One Just Is, which appears as a trippy psychedelic rocker on her album The Magician’s Private Library was stripped down to its bare bones in its live adaptation; yet this only proved to accentuate her wonderfully emotive vocals, and her fantastic guitar work as she played a nimble riff throughout the song.

Miranda moved onto the piano for fellow album track Sweet Dreams, humorously highlighting certain aspects of the keyboard she was using (primarily the cheap sounding drums on the keyboard). However nothing about Sweet Dreams sounded cheap, Miranda expertly moving between restrained and intense vocals; before vocally matching the horn parts on the album version to close out the track. Remaining on the keyboard, Miranda played a slightly off cover of the Leonard Cohen classic Famous Blue Raincoat; ending it by apologising to the aging musician. Her next cover however needed no such apology; playing an amazingly beautiful version of the Smith’s Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. Adding a few extra choruses, Miranda proved in moments like these why Lou Reed had chosen her to play at the festival he recently curated at the Sydney Opera House.

Ending on the gorgeous Slow Burn Treason and new song Pelican Rabbits (?), Miranda returned quickly to play a three song encore. Opening up to requests it was hardly surprising that Magician standout track Waves was quickly requested. It was within this song that Miranda’s vocals were best exhibited as she moved away from the microphone to play an unplugged version on her acoustic guitar. Following was possibly one of the coolest cover versions ever, being the song Aenima by prog-metal band Tool. Playing the song in drop D on her acoustic, Miranda matched every bit of the intensity of the song while highlighting the profanity-filled lyrics in a comic manner.

Returning to Australia with her band in the summer, Holly Miranda will hopefully have grown in stature as more people need to see her wonderful craft live. Those who were there no longer have to take Kanye’s word that she’s a fantastic musician; they know from experience.