Live Review: Laura Imbruglia, Melodie Nelson, Roger Loves Betty

Local Wollongong folk outfit Roger Loves Betty had the best turnout of the afternoon and when the lunchtime gig finally got underway, the harmonic duo on electric and acoustic guitar with a touch of harmonica had everyone in the intimate audience bobbing their heads.

Second up was Melodie Nelson featuring Lia Tsamoglou, a very gentle, dreamy frontwoman on a bright red electric guitar and her accompanying vocalist Kell Derrig-Hall. While Tsamoglou sounded shaky/shy at times, their last track, the wonderfully upbeat Bovine Blues, about cows in the country, was tops.

Laura Imbruglia adapted her new country-tinged folk rock album, What A Treat, perfectly to the ramshackle venue, taking a few technical difficulties in her stride. Playing both acoustic and archtop guitars with a frenetic bob of her head and flanked by her four-piece band, Imbruglia showcased raw vocals on tracks like the rocking Harsh Dylan Songs and her new single, Awoooh! Special mention goes to the electric guitarist, who was also a wonderful backing vocalist, and to the dude playing pedal steel guitar that added a great country twang to the texture of their sound.

Wearing an Alfred E. Neuman tee and explaining mid-set how she just choked on her own saliva, Imbruglia's light-hearted banter and quirky persona kept the crowd at ease while the end of the set built up some pumping momentum. There was a really live group duet called The Intervention where even the drummer left his post to take up vocals but the performance highlight was the closing number, Straight To The Bar, with its breakout of scatted, a cappella harmonies.

Rewriting the text-book of how to make it work, Laura Imbruglia and co. were gritty yet chilled and pulled off a rollicking set that will go down as one of those special moments where the audience really felt like part of the conversation.