Contortionist Studios - Sat Sep 10

Contortionist Studios, in a reclaimed South Brisbane warehouse, is an out-of-the-way sort of a venue, but proves an ideal setting for tonight’s acoustic show. Adelaide’s Emily Davis wins the crowd over right away with her easy-going manner and honey-sweet voice. She writes confessional-style songs that draw from life, but delivers them with humour and heart. A slow, sensual cover of Tom Waits’ Chocolate Jesus is the highlight of her set, and maybe even the night.

Headliner Emma Dean tells us that tonight is all about stripping her show back, but it’s still quite a production – the evening is split into five acts, and during each costume change, a pair of spindly, gothed-out kids roam the warehouse, playing pop song covers on a ukulele. Dean has a powerful voice, which she deploys to its full capabilities, and her show draws as heavily on cabaret as it does on Amanda Palmer-style theatrics. Her originals are bracing, but it’s also intriguing to hear her take a song like Smashing Pumpkins’ Bullet With Butterfly Wings and twist it around the contours of her Korg keyboard. Dean has described herself as a ‘ringmaster’ in the past, and that seems pretty apt, given the ease with which she whips her crowd’s enthusiasm up.

ALASDAIR DUNCAN

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