Live Review: Ali Flintoff, Fabian Rojos - The Moon

After a somewhat awkward performance from opening act Fabian Rojos, whose focus on his instrument was admirable but overall required more conviction and acknowledgement of the audience, came the illusory and otherworldly musings of solo act Ali Flintoff. Harnessing that dream-like psychedelic sound that seems to be pumping out of Perth lately, Flintoff gave her own twist, with lucid female vocals and a mellower mood. Her lyrics were slightly repetitive, though this was fitting to her style and laid-back charm. Similarly, there wasn't much of a performance aspect, though a one-person show at The Moon hardly calls for anything more. While she did try her hand at a few different things throughout the night – the inclusion of her fellow singer and egg-shaker was a nice touch, adding some nice harmonies and filling out the sound – her set did need a little more variety. A few songs in and the same pace with the dreamy vocals were nice, but not enough to keep an audience engaged. It's clear she has talent, particularly with a guitar, and it would be nice to see her experiment a little more; a short jam session to break up the simple song-after-song structure would not have been unwelcome.

Towards the end was when the show really seemed to kick off, or maybe when she'd finally grown comfortable enough to put out a little more energy. Her final song in particular was when the crowd really got an insight into her flair for vocals and it was at this point that the crowd really drew an interest and her potential as a musician became clear. With a little more confidence and ease on stage, Flintoff's sound could fit easily amongst the ranks of other like-minded psychedelic Perth musicians. The track Come Back Home offers promise of this, a more whimsical, feminine touch to a genre otherwise dominated by bands and men, and whilst her show at The Moon wasn't a standout, she's an exciting local talent you should look out for.