Live Review: Feist

Leslie Feist has been making music for almost two decades, so it stands to reason that she requires no introduction in the form of an opening act this evening.

Her discography has all the breadth, depth and diversity one could ask for. Being a weeknight, the decision to forgo an opener feels particularly merciful and she has instead chosen to perform her most recent album, Pleasure, in full, before promising to "go back in time and explore some common memories that we have through song".

She is supported by a three-piece band that's spread across the stage, herself alternating between electric and acoustic guitars; although most of the sounds that she wrings from the acoustic sound metallic and effect-laden, complementing the abrasive aesthetic of her latest work.

Her stage presence is playful throughout the performance as she interacts with the musicians and jests with the audience, at one point even inviting heckling from the friendly crowd. She prefaces A Man Is Not His Song as an inevitable realisation that comes shortly after meeting someone, although the sincerity in her music transcends any bitterness or cynicism. In addition to her flawless performance, the plaintive Baby Be Simple is 'complemented' by an actual baby crying in the foyer, before the synchronicity continues as Feist introduces I'm Not Running Away as a pact to herself about growing up.

She invites the audience out of their seats to slow dance like in the prom scene from Back To The Future during album closer Young Up. Feist twirls with a tambourine in between crowd members who are waltzing on the stage. The band waste no time and the dancers are barely off the stage before Feist and co get down to business with crowd-pleasers like My Moon My Man, A Commotion, Sealion and I Feel It All. Feist pulls out all the stops during these songs, looping and twisting melodies, and inviting call-and-response participation from the audience that even involves mass bird-whistling at one point.

Let It Die serves as a sentimental closer before the band leave the stage for what Feist openly acknowledges is not for the last time, returning minutes later with just her guitar. She begins the encore set by indulging a crowd member's request for Intuition, the spiralling list of hypotheticals and questions capturing feelings of confusion and regret.

Mushaboom receives another haunting acoustic treatment before Feist then closes the set with an updated version of 1234. The melody has changed, but the song remains the same and, while there's hours more music she could still play, it feels like the perfect conclusion.