Reviewed on Sunday May 10 (photo by Ashley Mar)
Do the songs make the show?
Hackney-born Paloma Faith is blessed with a powerful voice and an immensely disarming stage demeanour, yet, pulling primarily from her third album of OK-but-uninspiring retro-soul, her Sydney Opera House show ultimately fell flat.
Even in terms of energy and enthusiasm, the star was outshone by soul singer and occasional rapper Joel Culpepper. Taking just a small corner of the stage with his band, the South Londoner strutted and shuffled his way through a short set and set the tone for the night with a couple of blistering cover versions – showing that a great song is a good way to get the crowd on your side. Kelis and Andre 3000’s ‘Millionaire’ was pure fun, while his rendition of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ made you take his ability seriously. Plenty of similar talents have gone before and failed, but Culpepper, possessing perhaps the best British male voice since Omar – no lie – deserves to sell albums.
Paloma Faith’s performance, like her latest LP, A Perfect Contradiction, had an air of the ’80s about it. There were no shoulder pads in her gorgeous, split-to-the-thigh, grey-and-glass ball gown, but her band looked like the ultimate cabaret back-up in gold tuxedos. The songs too, right from the top and the electro-funk of ‘Mouth To Mouth’ (“Let’s just do it like we just met”).
The biggest reception – aside from the one for recent ARIA chart-topper, ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ – was reserved for later on and a version of Sydney anthem ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, transformed into an atmospheric James Bond theme.
It’s no mean feat to get the Opera House on its feet, which Faith, to her credit, managed several times, but most effectively with an encore rendition of ‘River Deep – Mountain High’. It served to highlight the gulf between a genuine classic and a palatable pop song, and that the strength of a gig depends largely on the quality of the material.
