Little Birdy took to the stage last Friday night at Brisbane's The Princess Theatre (20 June) to launch their BigBigLove 21st anniversary tour.
Their 2004 debut album, 'BigBigLove', has aged like fine wine. At no moment was there a feeling of dragging the past forward or a feeling of outdated staleness; instead, the room 'glowed a warm red' with big, big love.Katy Steele's performance was fantastic. To quote Katy, "f... agism, I'm in my 40s now and I'm the happiest I've been in my entire life!" Quite empowering for young, 30-year-old me and my sore back.
Early on, during 'Beautiful To Me', Katy was already dancing and moving around stage with her guitar. She stood on the edge and cheered at the audience, then walked back and danced with band members.
Image © Kalem Horn
Her singing was fantastic. She hit the notes she wrote 21 years ago. Songs struck a chord with me all the same that they did all these years.
I'd call the show bi-directional fan service. "We have always had the BEST fans!" Katy exclaimed. I feel Little Birdy got just as much out of the show as the audience did, reliving the emotions that made those past moments great, whilst bonding together and creating new memories.
The rest of the band were no slouches either – a very tight performance. Barney's bass guitar exemplified the pulse of the rhythm, making Katy's melodies punch harder. Simon Leach's guitar enveloped emotion as songs moved through; and the touring drummer kept everything in line.
The show stayed faithful to the studio recording, even when it became difficult in a live setting to perform cover to cover. With multiple guitar changes and tunings, the guitar tech and band worked fast in-between songs with confidence for pretty seamless transitions.
Image © Kalem Horn
Halfway through the album it was time for my personal favourite and one of the band's favourites, 'Relapse'. According to Katy, one of the band's earliest songs with demos even preceding Little Birdy.
The audience effectively took centre-stage as they sung harmony with the lyrics. I joined in for the song that had made me cry many times. "I can't help this pain. . . that I'm feelingggg!" The crowd erupted in applause at the song's end.
We continued to all danced together through the rest of the gold certified, ARIA nominated, iconic album leaving with our big, big, hearts filled.
More photos from the concert.
