Live Review: Kimbra

Due to overwhelming demand, Kimbra has added an earlier set for this unique show. There’s no support act and she starts right away so that she can fit in two performances tonight. “This is so last-minute and a bit of a test run for these shows that we’re about to take on tour,” says Kimbra as she addresses the audience. Usually, Kimbra is surrounded by lots of instrumental gadgets and equipment but this performance is something completely different – this is Kimbra reimagined. 

She stands with only a microphone between an upright bass player and a pianist and together their melodic intuition flows so naturally in this new setting. “We’re going to have a very intimate night together,” she says as she adjusts to a new vibe and she absolutely shines in this different light. The content is stripped down to get to the essence of her songs in a new way. She’s just released a new EP of these reimagined songs, which mostly feature a collection of songs from her latest album Primal Heart, plus a few more from her back catalogue. With each incarnation of her songs, she explores a deconstructed delivery that accentuates her idiosyncratic vocals with jazzy tones and crazy vocal runs that dive from soulful lows to soaring heights.

“This year I came out of a long-distance relationship,” she reveals before sharing a very personal song called Hi Def Distance Romance. The song explores the idea of today’s culture of living on our phones and feeling lonely through the glitching pixels and fragments. “It’s about intimacy and the longing for connection through the matrix,” Kimbra shares. Kimbra asks us if we’re up for a challenge and gets the audience singing along in support as she goes in with some seriously strong vocals over the top for Cameo Lover. “I’m not going to beat around the bush, this next song is about death. It’s one thing that unites us, it’s coming for us all,” she laughs before beginning Waltz Me To The Grave – a love song about death and liberation. “I’m living my life with a dance so I can leave with one too,” says Kimbra.

She then takes it back to her first album Vows with a song called Withdraw, which she tells was written when she was just 18. Melbourne is a special place for her and the place where she made her first album. She describes feeling at home in this space, yet completely vulnerable at the same time as she performs in a way that’s outside of her comfort zone. “The stars can only come out when it’s dark enough,” she says, before sharing a stripped-down incarnation of Black Sky, that explores the theme of allowing others to see who you really are in the dark places. This is the core of what Kimbra does tonight. She holds nothing back and completely opens herself up by pushing the limits of her potential to showcase a raw and unique version of herself that’s one of a kind.