Despite the less than stellar weather last Thursday, October 20, Jive swiftly filled with concert-goers eager to see Sydney singer Lanie Lane. With supporting acts Little Miss and The Fearless Vampire Killers in tow, the night was a soulful, sometimes-loud and incredibly diverse affair. And what a amazing night of local music it was.
Miss Little performed solo on her electric keyboards (I couldn’t help but get Tori Amos and Stevie Wonder vibes at the subtle keyboard grooves), and commanded attention early in the evening; her set bolstered by the programmed drum and percussion loops on her Casio. The music, taken from her debut album When Things Fall Apart and Into Place, was emotive and edgy, proving why she’s been a mainstay on Triple J Unearthed. Straying away from typical pretentious singer-songwriter fare, her opening set was beautiful and striking.
Surfabilly group The Fearless Vampire Killers gave this writer their first taste of ‘surfabilly’. Thanks guys. Surfabilly in short – lots of bass and enough funk to make you want to move your hips like Elvis. Their energy on stage and cohesion as a group was praiseworthy. Their performance? Perhaps too loud for Jive’s acoustics and to be shoehorned between the acoustic Miss Little and quiter, more melodic Lanie Lane. Their inclusion however made more sense later in the evening when Lane brought lead-singer and guitarist Sean Ainsworth on stage for a number of songs, reminiscing days when they played Melbourne pub shows together and when he offered a shoulder to cry on after ‘some a**hole’ made Lanie cry.
Looking every bit like the second-coming of a rockabilly pin-up, Lanie Lane gave the crowd what they were after. Evoking vintage Katy Perry vibes (before she went mainstream and back when she had a sense of humour) with her jet-black hair and sheer outfit, the set drew on material from her debut album To The Horses and touched on everything from pop, jazz, country and blue-eyed-soul. What Do I Do gave as much tear-jerking earnestness as a Billie Holiday song (that’s saying something), and with a surprise acoustic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire thrown in for good measure, it was clear – this girl knows her sh*t.
For such a relatively new artist, Lane and her band performed like a well-oiled machine. I left Jive feeling more than pleased that I had seen such raw talent onstage, with not only Lanie Lane but the delightful Miss Little and lively Fearless Vampire Killers too, with the added bonus of ‘surfabilly’ as a future potential conversation piece.
www.lanielane.com.au
www.misslittle.com.au
www.thefearlessvampirekillers.com
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