Live Review: Katy Steele

The flyer for Katy Steele's Sunday night gig at Ya Ya's read “direct from New York…”, highlighting the fact that since this Perth girl flew the coop, we don't get to have her back all that often.  Touring in tandem with the release of her new single Fire Me Up, Steele was supported by fellow Perth songstress Felicity Groom.  

Groom opened proceedings to a noisy room. It was unfortunate that much of the audience seemed intent on chatting rather than watching the show, as Groom deserves an attentive audience. Playing a selection of songs from her upcoming album Hungry Sky. Groom's powerful vocals and moody tunes have the air of the theatre, and in fact she played a song which she wrote for a recent production at the Blue Room – a wonderful, dark number which will appear on the album. 

Katy Steele trotted on stage with all the swagger and hair flicking audiences have come to expect from this little pocket-rocket. Starting out with newie Signal To You, Steele was in great form and her unique voice commanded full attention. While that voice hasn't changed much, time has refined Steele's style on the guitar, imbibing her alt-country-rock sound with a deeper sense of rhythm and musicality.

When Steele puts on a show, half of the show is Katy Steele being Katy Steele. Case in point: finding the stage lighting bothersome, Steele asked for all lights to be turned off and played in the near dark until someone had the bright idea of bringing a candle on stage, and so the entire set was lit by one lone candle. Steele flirted with crossing the line into diva territory but managed to stay on the right side of it with her good humour and transparency. 

New songs Seesaw and Fire Me Up were catchy and showed that Steele has still got the goods, although the latter lacked the punch of the recorded version and will likely sound best with a full band. Steele took requests from the audience, most of whom gave away their Little Birdy fan status calling for early hits such as Baby Blue and Relapse. 

Though Steele's set came in at a short 50 minutes, it was loaded high with new songs, old songs, eccentricity and boisterous joking around. It felt like Steele had let the audience into her living room for an intimate show between friends. Great to have you back, Katy.