Live Review: Client Liaison

After multiple lockdown rescheduling, Client Liaison finally get to celebrate the release of their new album, Divine Intervention, with fans in person for one night only at The Forum.

The line-up is perfectly curated for the ultimate dancefloor party, launching with local pop act Matilda Pearl. Fired up with a bright neon orange dress and hair to match, she unleashes her retro-funk and disco-infused tunes with shimmering vocals. The theatre fills up quickly and people are grooving along to Pearl’s catchy pop hits about relatable topics like online dating and high school politics. Her singles including Linger and What Can I Do? prove to be the standout favourites and we become an instant fan of this fresh new homegrown artist.

Sunshine & Disco Faith Choir are up next and immediately capture everyone’s attention. The 12-piece choir decked out in shiny blue and gold robes, complete with Bowie-inspired face paint and sparkling glitter, take us to the church high up in disco heaven. DJ Sunshine is at the centre of the choir on the decks mixing up some huge beats and together the house, techno and disco believers make us rejoice and rave. 

It’s an unexpected combination unlike anything we’ve seen before, but all comes together so well as they combine gospel church songs with a few modern classics including Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams and Kim Wilde’s You Keep Me Hangin’ On. The high energy sound is supercharged with soulful powerhouse vocal performances from different choir members who alternate in taking on lead vocals against a backdrop of an epic sonic soundscape. By the end of their set, there’s no doubt that our faith in the return to the dancefloor is stronger than ever.

“We’re gonna take you on a very special journey tonight and we can be as one,” says lead singer of Client Liaison, Monte Morgan. The band makes a grand entrance as they walk down a staircase on the stage that’s matched perfectly to The Forum and complete with colosseum pillars to suit the Greek-themed architecture. They dive straight into one of their latest synthpop bangers, Club Called Heaven and the audience unleashes their carefree dance moves without any worry. They continue rolling through their fresh new music and bring Matilda Pearl back to help out on vocals for Cold To Touch.

We’ve all waited so long for this moment, which makes it feel even more special as we finally get to celebrate the return of live music in Melbourne. “We’re creating a new variant tonight, the Client Liaison variant,” says multi-instrumentalist/producer, Harvey Miller. The crowd reaction confirms it’s one they will happily embrace, with nothing but good vibes and positive energy. Morgan continues to sing on another new track, Unloaded, “Turn up the sound of freedom if you want to be released.” It’s the anthem for us to live our best lives and let go of any bad stuff the past year has dealt us.   

They get super funky for an old '80s-inspired favourite, Queen, and a couple of remarkable throwback covers including their triple j Like A Version of Deee-Lite’s Groove Is In The Heart and Kylie Minogue’s Love At First Sight, featuring Sunshine & Disco Faith Choir to really elevate the performance to a whole new level. 

The crowd stomps the hardwood floors to demand an encore and of course, they return with a big finale starting with World Of Our Love, dedicated to Morgan’s father (who just turned 80 years old and can be seen dancing along in the crowd). The band throws flowers at the audience and even dismantles the stage prop colosseum pillars and launches them into the front row to bounce around the mosh-pit. Sparks shower down over the stage and The Real Thing and House Of Holy bring the show to a close with epic saxophone and pan-flute solos to raise the roof one last time.