Paul Kelly silences a stadium with a single heartbreaking song

MUSIC
PAUL KELLY
Qudos Bank Arena, August 30
Reviewed by MICHAEL RUFFLES
★★★★
Some artists break your heart. Some tear theirs out in front of you. Paul Kelly is more surgical: if the pen is sharper than a knife, he wields his words like a scalpel and performs a triple bypass.

The legendary folk-rock singer-songwriter is on a stadium tour, but we could be in any bar in Australia on a Saturday night being transported along the Hume Highway, or to the Northern Rivers, via Wave Hill and Glenrowan, as 40 years of stories were condensed into two hours.

He opens with the sultry, smouldering Houndstooth Dress from last year’s Fever Longing Still but is soon slipping into the ’80s. The rousing Before Too Long and tender Careless were interspersed with gems from 2017’s No.1 album Life is Fine.

Paul Kelly wields his words like a scalpel. Credit: Sergio Martin

The newest single (it still has “wet paint on it”, Kelly jokes) is Rita Wrote A Letter, an update 30 years later on the story of jailbird Joe from How To Make Gravy (later introduced as a prequel). The sequel may be a ghost song but is the more rollicking and instantly infectious of the two, while the classic, as presented here with slide guitar, is the more mournful and plaintive.

The most heartbreaking moment came courtesy of They Thought I Was Asleep (from 2005’s Foggy Highway with The Stormwater Boys), told from the point of view of a young boy in the back of a car witnessing an intense, private moment between his parents. The father says something and his mother is left sobbing; what loss, betrayal or careless word led to the tears we are left to guess or imagine.

For those most familiar with Kelly courtesy of dad’s copy of seven-times platinum greatest hits collection (hey, he’s a legend not a star), this was a particular revelation from the night.

If that was Kelly’s weeping song, the healing could be found with the redemptive low-down guitar of To Her Door, the coming-of-age allegory Deeper Water and anthemic From Little Things Big Things Grow, ably assisted by Jess Hitchcock.

Sometimes the words and music cut deep, but you walk away feeling better for it.

MUSIC
Camila Cabello
Hordern Pavilion, 30 August
Reviewed by SHAMIM RAZAVI
★★★
Camila Cabello is less than the sum of her parts. Her great tunes, expressive voice and clever visuals in the relative intimacy of the Hordern should amount to a superlative night of pop, but the reality falls far short.

Perhaps it is that the music is literally eclipsed by the stage show: a great live drummer keeps the dance beat with precision but together with a guitar section is barely visible, pushed to the wings and background.

In theory, that could give Cabello’s vocals the foregrounding they deserve – her voice is so true amidst the frenetic production that she could have been lip-syncing (she wasn’t), but in fact both vocals and music relinquish the foreground to a revolving and evolving platform – part bouncy castle, part mega go-go cage – with dancers and flame cannons.

At no point does Camila Cabello come across as genuinely herself.Credit: Richard Clifford

In a better show, the decent set and indecent dancing wouldn’t merit a mention, but sadly, they were the most interesting and creative element of the night.

It is a shame because the music deserves a more focused listening. The hits – from opener Shameless to Señorita midway and Havana towards the end of the night – structure the night and the lesser tunes flow nicely in between.

That they flow so imperceptibly is in part a reflection of the limited sonic palette, but is also a tribute to a well-programmed setlist that – save for a welcome down tempo interlude which features B.O.A.T. and an excellent cover of local ballad Torn – maintains a relentless energy.

It is puzzling then, that she ends the show not with one of those greats but rather the vacuous I LUV IT, complete with its soulless repetition of its title line (I stopped counting at 55). Boring the audience is a novel way to stop them asking for more.

The missing element was authenticity. At no point does Cabello come across as genuinely herself. It is all obviously and self-consciously a pouty, posed performance – and she just isn’t a natural enough actor to make us forget we’re watching one.

THEATRE
WHEN NIGHT COMES
Union Bond Store, The Rocks
August 28
Reviewed by CASSIE TONGUE
★★★

With an almost sold-out initial season before its opening night and a just-announced three-week extension on the cards, When Night Comes – an immersive and multi-roomed theatrical event – is the early breakout success of this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival.

Created by a deep bench of co-directors and co-writers Kirsten Siddle (A Midnight Visit), Scott Maidment (Blanc de Blanc), Mike Finch, (Circus Oz) and Helen Cassidy (Spiegelworld), When Night Comes offers itself as a hedonistic and “distinctly intoxicating” experience. Does it live up to early hype?

The cast is deeply committed and undoubtedly skilled. Credit: Jeff Busby

There’s certainly a great deal of effort and detail involved in establishing such a sprawling work. There is a dizzying configuration of novelty and party lights to conjure dreamlike moods, shadows and shiny floors to tilt our perspectives, and a room full of DIY vines (that’s where Pan, played by Cyrus Henry with his horns and flute, hangs out).

The show is also part cocktail tasting, and characters will present you with potions and vials to drink (mocktail options are also available, and the cast are diligent with checking your options).

Led through the rooms in a small group – in cloaks and masks (glasses wearers, good luck), you meet a series of vaguely mythic figures in a set of distinct scenes. As a series of images, there’s some room for delight – little sleights of hand and songs and stories – and it all, I suspect, goes down easier if you’ve chosen the alcohol-friendly option.

These characters deliver monologues in their own ways, but they’re all really just about being brave, trusting your senses and pursuing pleasure rather than being bogged down in the banality and bureaucracy of everyday life. The problem is, they’re all so similar they quickly become banal themselves, the concepts rendered superficial without mounting stakes or story connections.

There are a lot of promised secrets to uncover, but not much of a clear narrative to go with them, so it’s hard to buy into the stakes of the show and into the personalities we meet. There’s a puzzle, but not one that we need to use the environment, or our encounters, to solve. And when we unlock the darkest layer of this mysterious society and enter their room of ritual, the reveal might not feel worth the journey.

The cast is deeply committed and undoubtedly skilled across a range of performance disciplines. But it all feels a little muted – like the show’s script was happy to gesture at wonder rather than conjure it. At 65 minutes, it’s also a very efficient vehicle: there’s no time to linger, wander or explore, like in open-room immersive experiences. We’re on a schedule.

So it’s all going to come down to what you make it, and if you go, you’ll get the most out of it if you fully buy into the concept. Check your cynicism at the door. The best bet is to assemble a group of friends who are all happy to play along and dance with masked strangers, and you might just make your own night to remember.

Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.

Most Viewed in Culture

Loading