[MUSIC ~ AUS]
Hindley Street Music Hall, Sun 5 Mar, 2023.
Tonight, Julia Jacklin epitomises quiet self-possession. With a 14 song setlist covering both older material and songs from her 2022 release PRE PLEASURE she wows her attentive and appreciative audience. Ending an Australian tour before heading off to New Zealand for a series of gigs, her band is clearly a tightknit unit. Featuring Laurie Torres on drums, Mimi Gilbert on bass, Jennifer Aslett on keys and Will Kidman displaying some wonderful guitar work, they compliment Jacklin’s own guitar and clear, at times self-deprecating and intimate vocals.
Dressed in a red puff-sleeved dress which seemed to reference Alice In Wonderland (will take you on a journey) meets alternative country vibe meets European folk dress, Jacklin stands centre stage, rarely interacting with her band, but sharing her wry confessional songs. There is no rock chick jaded sensibility with this show. Banter with the audience is brief, but she is far from aloof – rather she wants her songs to do the communicating, so let’s get on with it. Brief smiles as she senses how much this crowd is with her signal a loosening up – especially at one point where she fumbles with a lyric and the crowd spontaneously picks up the slack. Then later in Head Alone the crowd joins in with an anthemic, “I don’t want to be touched all the time. I raise my body up to be mine. Ha!”
Jacklin’s voice tonight has a unique and soothing quality – drawing the audience in as one. There is a mellow undertone and a Gillian Welch airiness. Her diction is faultless, ensuring that all the subtlety, power and humour in the lyrics is not lost. But despite the lilting quality especially as she soars to those higher registers, she shows that she can also wail. The refrain from I Was Neon – “I quite like the person I’ve become. Am I going to lose myself again?” is special and resonates with her potential angst about the future. There is indie edge aplenty in this one.
Generously covering songs from her three albums she opens with Be Careful With Yourself and encores with a solo version of Don’t Let The Kids Win, from her 2016 album of the same name. In between there are songs
from the second album Crushing, including Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You and Pressure To Party. Songs from her latest album Pre Pleasure of course also feature heavily. Asking who in the crowd went to a Catholic school, she launches into Lydia Wears A Cross and then I Was Neon.
Julia Jacklin demonstrates tonight that she is an artist – everything is planned and there are layers not only in the lyrics but in the unaffected crafting of this show. As she says in Ignore Tenderness from Pre Pleasure, “No doubt you are brave”. Jacklin is not following trends – she is there to present her work and tonight her audience displays their admiration and respect in abundance.
5 stars
Cathy Tune
#ClotheslineMag
#AdelaideFest
[MUSIC ~ AUS] Hindley Street Music Hall, Sun 5 Mar, 2023. Tonight, Julia Jacklin epitomises quiet self-possession. With a 14 song setlist covering both older material and songs from her 2022 release PRE PLEASURE she wows her attentive and appreciative audience. Ending an Australian tour before heading off to New Zealand for a series of gigs, her band is clearly a tightknit unit. Featuring Laurie Torres on drums, Mimi Gilbert on bass, Jennifer Aslett on keys and Will Kidman displaying some wonderful guitar work, they compliment Jacklin’s own guitar and clear, at times self-deprecating and intimate vocals. Dressed in a red puff-sleeved dress which seemed to reference Alice In Wonderland (will take you on a journey) meets alternative country vibe meets European folk dress, Jacklin stands centre stage, rarely interacting with her band, but sharing her wry confessional songs. There is no rock chick jaded sensibility with this show. Banter with the audience is brief, but she is far from aloof – rather she wants her songs to do the communicating, so let’s get on with it. Brief smiles as she senses how much this crowd is with her signal a loosening up – especially at one point where she fumbles with a lyric and the crowd spontaneously picks up the slack. Then later in Head Alone the crowd joins in with an anthemic, “I don’t want to be touched all the time. I raise my body up to be mine. Ha!” Jacklin’s voice tonight has a unique and soothing quality – drawing the audience in as one. There is a mellow undertone and a Gillian Welch airiness. Her diction is faultless, ensuring that all the subtlety, power and humour in the lyrics is not lost. But despite the lilting quality especially as she soars to those higher registers, she shows that she can also wail. The refrain from I Was Neon – “I quite like the person I’ve become. Am I going to lose myself again?” is special and resonates with her potential angst about the future. There is indie edge aplenty in this one. Generously covering songs from her three albums she opens with Be Careful With Yourself and encores with a solo version of Don’t Let The Kids Win, from her 2016 album of the same name. In between there are songs from the second album Crushing, including Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You and Pressure To Party. Songs from her latest album Pre Pleasure of course also feature heavily. Asking who in the crowd went to a Catholic school, she launches into Lydia Wears A Cross and then I Was Neon. Julia Jacklin demonstrates tonight that she is an artist – everything is planned and there are layers not only in the lyrics but in the unaffected crafting of this show. As she says in Ignore Tenderness from Pre Pleasure, “No doubt you are brave”. Jacklin is not following trends – she is there to present her work and tonight her audience displays their admiration…
Julia Jacklin ~ Adelaide Festival 2023 Review
Julia Jacklin ~ Adelaide Festival 2023 Review
2023-03-10
Cathy Tune
Catherine Tune
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