Live Review: Kelela, serpentwithfeet & MIRASIA @ Now Or Never Festival, Melbourne

Bringing down an action-packed weekend of music, the City of Melbourne’s Now Or Never festival embraced diversity with a line-up of queer artists that brought kings and queens of all varieties to the Royal Exhibition Building.

Tonight’s gigs (27 August) not only spoke to these communities, but with Kelela and serpentwithfeet attracting plenty of broad indie appeal, the audience was even more diverse than you may assume.

The cavernous space of the place brings to mind the good old days of warehouse parties. Tonight, we are not greeted by the insistent thud of a dance party but rather the smooth-as-silk sophisticated soul vibes of serpentwithfeet.

The crowd roars with approval at the end of each tune. Arriving late and missing a large portion of his set is heartbreak. Josiah Wise, who goes by the name Serpent these days, has one of the most beautifully deep and velvety voices you have ever heard. Slick soul, gospel and R&B-influenced grooves played on synths, and live drums are supremely chill.

Serpent creates a safe place for emotional honesty and intimate reflection on love, broken relationships, sexuality and race. His heartfelt soul searching is so deep you practically need to be a certified diver to roll in his deep. It’s a sweetly seductive vibe that has this set feeling like a warm hug from someone who cares. The set comes down with the joyous camaraderie of Fellowship, during which the crowd provides a backing vocal. 

Serpentwithfeet doesn’t offer party starters but gives us a lowkey, lusciously immersive vibe.

MIRASIA, looking very chi-chi in her best party dress, breaks the mood with club remixes of well-known tunes like that cover of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car before delving into more underground sounds.

There has been a surge of interest in Ballroom in Australia since around 2018. MIRASIA has admirably done her bit for the nation’s housing crisis, founding the House of Silky and Dutty as safe spaces for community members. Faster than you could say, ‘What are you looking at?’ There is a whole lot of voguing dance-off action happening on stage. The crowd goes wild for the realness that’s being served.

Soon after, Kelela takes to the stage to strut her stuff. She looked curvaceous in a figure-hugging sky-blue dress. Adorned with sparkles, the evening gown featured the iconic Dali painting, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, printed across the lower half of her dress. A blond fringe, which contrasts with a bonded close crop around the back, completes the look with is consummately glamorous. Without a band, she sings over instrumental mixes and remixes of her songs. Kelela’s appeal is in the power and range of her vocals, which are delivered pretty much flawlessly.

The crowd seemingly lose their collective minds when she introduces herself with Washed Away. It’s been a long time since we have seen the audience respond with such passion and energy. Kelela proceeds to showcase tunes off her latest album, Raven, which was released this year on Warp Records. Her vocals deliver a seamless blend of soul and R&B, provided in the context of contemporary electronic beats. It’s an approach that often attracts the descriptor ‘experimental’, but there isn’t anything too experimental about what Kelela has to offer.

She is a good old-fashioned disco and club diva, dropping tunes that showcase her exemplary vocals whilst making sure the beats work their charm on the floor. It’s an approach that isn’t done with looking back on the traditions of the past. Instead, she is moving her club diva into fresh new realms. “All the songs on Raven are about the same thing,” she says wearily. “Patriarchy! Fuck that shit,” she screams defiantly. It’s a move that creates an instant connection with her audience and draws them close to her.

Even in those moments when the entire room is pulling shapes with reckless abandon, it feels like Kelela’s music is about being together and sharing our time together. Kelela is generous with her time with a set that stretches out for about 90 minutes – Cut 4 Me rounds off the set. Its tendency towards electro is a treat for fans who have been following Kelela since 2013.

Kelela embraced the notions of diversity and inclusion to give us a positive and uplifting show that felt more like a group hug with caring friends.