Live Review: Kate Miller-Heidke, Brendan Maclean

A last-minute addition to the bill to replace Keir Nuttall's overly-ribald alter ego Franky Walnut, Brendan Maclean's work soars within the unusual surrounds of Brisbane's St John's Cathedral. He seems atypically daunted by the set-up. His leftfield banter is more restrained (“Don't fall in love with a ballerina,” he advises, at one point. “That's got nothing to do with this next song. Just don't do it.”) and his performance is direct and unaffected.

It actually works wonders. His stripped-back approach (never performing with anything more than a ukulele or piano) allows the unique acoustics of the space to take centre stage. The sudden dramatic halts of recent single, Stupid, for example, sound utterly breathtaking when chased by the cathedral's colossal reverb. Only his third Brisbane performance, it's almost unarguably his best.

Kate Miller-Heidke seems similarly daunted by her venue – but, where Maclean retreated, Heidke over-extends. Opening with a wordless operatic piece (“I've never played that live – but I thought, 'If not here...?'”), she immediately illustrates what will be a key irritation of her set: an over-reliance on technology. While her musical set-up is stripped-back (performing mostly to acoustic guitar, with only the occasional piano or violin), her sound is heavily amplified and she punctuates many of her songs with an unnecessary amount of delay. Not only isn't it necessary, it actually tramples a bit on the innate majesty of her setting.

It would have been far more preferable to hear quieter and less-effected renditions of unsettling folk tunes like Sarah and The Devil Wears A Suit. The songs are still great songs and Miller-Heidke and husband/sideman Keir Nuttall fantastic musicians (though, Miller-Heidke's timing on Caught In The Crowd seems oddly sloppy) but it's hard not to think of the event as a bit of a wasted opportunity.

You never really get to hear Miller-Heidke's incredible voice sit within the St John's Cathedral acoustics. It's either loud to the point of almost distorting or hidden beneath artificial delays. Which is disappointing.