Live Review: Ngaiire, Lester The Fierce

25 September 2013 | 11:45 am | Stephanie Liew

As well as making singing look as easy as talking, Ngaiire puts her whole body and soul into the notes that come from her, moving uninhibitedly with the music and feeling every word that comes out of her mouth.

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Lester The Fierce, aka Anita Lester, fixes the problem of the empty semi-circle in front of the stage by telling everyone to move forward, which the half-filled room's worth of punters oblige. From the dark, dramatic ballad Holland, to the heart-stopping, jazzy chamber pop of O Father and the theatrical, '50s-tinged Colours, Lester The Fierce captivates the audience with their impressive versatility. Lester and her capable (and endearingly mismatching) band finish with current single Howl, a highlight of the strong set.

Ngaiire is resplendent in a denim jacket adorned with spiky studs and patches of dinosaurs and Donald Duck faces; not to mention her pom-pom decorated boots and plastic palm tree crown. However loud her apparel is, it doesn't have a chance of overshadowing Ngaiire's performance, as she begins with the bang of Rabbit Hole. Technical difficulties mar the first half, but once these are smoothed out it is synth-and-beats R&B central, courtesy of her three gun bandmates who are dressed in white jumpsuits with fluoro space-doodle patches. Ngaiire's between-song banter is bubbly, charming and natural as she shares some amusing song inspirations: “Here's a song I wrote when I was really angry; it's called Die,” and a one about a guy she once dated whose party trick was that “he wees in his own mouth”.

Latest single Around receives one of the biggest cheers of the night. So does the heartrending ABCD, in which the combination of Ngaiire's vibrato and sombre piano sends chills into the still audience. The lack of harmonies here actually emphasises just how impressive Ngaiire's vocal expression and control are. Conversely, the addition of two backing vocalists for Dirty Hercules works a treat, with her talented band elevating the “why don'tcha” reprise into a sprawling psych-out. They also 'rock' up other tracks, giving Uranus a drum'n'bass duel and performing Ordinary (which appears on the album Lamentations as a ballad) in its original dance-banger incarnation. As well as making singing look as easy as talking, Ngaiire puts her whole body and soul into the notes that come from her, moving uninhibitedly with the music and feeling every word that comes out of her mouth.