Gig Review: Kimbra @ The Forum, 9th September

Last night Kimbra played a massive show at The Forum in Melbourne that was indicative of her insane rise to fame in the Australian music scene this year. The venue was absolutely packed, and moreover it was absolutely packed with genuine fans of Kimbra’s music. It’s amazing what a quality debut album and a providing guest vocals for a number one hit will do for you.

As much as I would have liked to see Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! (because any band with that much punctuation in their name must be awesome) I arrived at the venue just after Kimbra had taken to the stage, surrounded by a full band and powering through opening number Settle Down. The song is a microcosm of Kimbra’s music: equal parts R&B, jazz, and pop, driven by powerful and dominating vocals. It’s music that converts effortlessly and brilliantly into a live show with very few changes, which allows Kimbra’s live show to stay very true to her studio music while still being purely exhilarating.

Kimbra’s set was mostly full of material from her debut album ‘Vows’, along with a new song, Merigold, which ‘may or may not’ make an appearance on her next album, and a couple of covers. There’s not much to say really. Every song was very strong, very enjoyable, and performed impeccably by Kimbra and her band. A mid-show costume change saw her change into a vibrant red dress, but she didn’t need flashy clothes or gimmicks to demand the crowd’s undivided attention: Kimbra is a born performer, and to take your eyes off her when she is on the stage takes a concentrated effort.

Cameo Lover finished Kimbra’s main set, and was of course my favourite song of the night. After a token encore break Kimbra returned to don a guitar for Somebody Please before closing with the rather brooding but ultimately hopeful The Samaritan. While she had played for under an hour, no-one could possibly complain about a lack of substance in Kimbra’s set: it is after all better to play a shorter set with little filler than a drawn out set full of it.

So yeah, not a whole lot to report. It was a predictably good gig from a musician seemingly destined for big things both in Australia and internationally. Kimbra puts on one hell of a show, and she doesn’t need some guy called Wally on stage with her to do so.