Review: Kate Ceberano And Paul Grabowsky Present A Live And Loose Concert of LOVE SONGS at City Recital Hall

22nd October 2016, 8pm, City Recital Hall

Australian singer Kate Ceberano has paired with ARIA and Helpmann Award winning pianist Paul Grabowsky to share their LOVE SONGS concert for one night with City Recital Hall. Putting their own spin on well known love songs from Ceberano's back catalogue and other popular english and French songs, the pair keep the one night engagement relatively low key.

There is a degree of a "live and loose" and to a degree, unrehearsed feel to the evening as an unexpected interval is included and Ceberano sets up an "out" of potentially needing to stop and retry difficult phrases, which she does use. The stage is sparsley dressed with the grand piano, set at an angle where the audience cannot see Grabowsky's fingers, an unusual move for a concert of this format which has intricate piano solos. In front of the piano Ceberano has an Ipad stand, microphone stand and stool at her disposal. It is also noted that whilst Ceberano is amplified with the microphone, neither Grabowsky or his piano are wired for sound which does potential impact the sound balance levels maintained through the night.

Songs include reworkings of songs Ceberano has previously had great success with when backed by a larger pop band such as Love And Affection alongside jazz interpretations of pop songs such as Divinyls I Touch Myself and Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, and French works like Edith Piaf's La Vie En Rose. Ceberano presents the songs with a restraint throughout, foregoing her signature strength and power. It's unclear if this is a particular arrangement of the works, a need to preserve her voice or a desire to ensure the piano was not overpowered. Whilst having a nice light sound for the most part, there is a focus on the notes rather than the lyrics, sousing clarity for many of the songs which is further hindered by the inability to see her face behind the microphone. Ceberano moves between using the microphone stand, holding the microphone and sitting, often looking at the Ipad for prompts which seems unusual for a concert of this format along with the request for leniency for attempting works that she feels she is not vocally 100% up to the challenge. Similarly, Grabowsky's accompaniment felt stilted with awkward phrasing as if last minute changes had been made to the work or there was insufficient rehearsal time.

For die had fans of Ceberano, they seemed to be forgiving of these issues and were more interested in hearing their idol sing rather than require a connection to the music and therefore this would be the target audience rather than general music fans looking for soul touching heart wrenching personal experience.

LOVE SONGS: Kate Ceberano AND PAUL GRABOWSKY

City Recital Hall

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