Reviewed on Thursday March 23
I can’t imagine anyone could catch a Kate Miller-Heidke gig and not enjoy themselves.
Even if the music ain’t your cup of tea, she’s a well-seasoned performer these days and able to sprinkle wonderful (and risque) anecdotes and observations through her show with ease, like a petite, operatic Dean Martin. To up the ante even further, for these three Opera House performances KMH appeared alongside the Sydney Symphony Orchestra which, as we all know, are the best house guests to liven up even the most tragic party. They are also, as Miller-Heidke was happy to reveal, the horniest bunch of musicians out there.
I’ve caught KMH many times over the years, and her sets are always solid: fan-favourites, popular hits, one or two more obscure numbers. It’s an old formula, but one that works. Interlace it all with some winning banter and you’re home free; though here is my sole caveat for the night. The preambles before certain songs are starting to become a touch repetitive (I’m looking at you, ‘Caught In The Crowd’). In her defence, the crowd on opening night was not quite her usual fare. You couldn’t swing a high school student by the ankles without taking out a dozen more, and though Miller-Heidke still included the odd swear-word or innuendo, she freely admitted that this was a slightly more sanitised version of the show in response.
Not that this really detracted from the evening. KMH’s oeuvre already tends towards storytelling and character-driven pieces, and in having the symphony present, each song is able to take on new and epic properties. It’s quite cinematic in a way, which particularly works on a song such as ‘Sarah’. Already a deeply harrowing story, with the orchestra driving it home the impact is intense.
The highlight of the night was another song of loss and remembrance, the bittersweet ‘In the Dark’. For such a large ensemble, it’s a difficult and delicate balance to ensure that not only does the orchestra have the opportunity to showcase itself before an audience who might not ordinarily be exposed to such sights and sounds, but that above all else, the company stays true to each song.
This does not imply that there can be no deviation from the original composition; that we must follow, note for note, each familiar rise and fall, each well-worn trill. But, for want of a better term, the soul must stay intact. In that regard, this pairing worked to unique and splendid effect.
