Live Review: Katie Noonan & Karin Schaupp

Strolling with ease through Lizotte's, Katie Noonan & Karin Schaupp took their places on stage, decked out with peacefully minimal fairy lights and leafy vines that came to reflect the mood of the entire set. Kicking off with the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds classic, Into My Arms, the two soon displayed how beautifully they compliment each other as a duo, with Schaupp's skilful classical guitar holding its own with the angelic voice of Noonan.

Their tour, rightly named the Songs Of The Southern Skies Tour, comprised of a range of Aussie and Kiwi pop/rock classics and, before long, the sounds of Crowded House rang through the dim-lit theatre as they performed Into Temptation. By this point, the audience were so gobsmacked by Noonan's vocal technique that they hardly heard a patron's ringtone, a call quickly rejected. Schaupp's solo Southern Cross Dreaming demanded the full attention of the room. Words cannot do justice to seeing the Brisbane-based musician pluck chords with her right thumb while playing beautiful loops with every other finger.

The duo presented fascinating variations on Gotye's Hearts A Mess and Cold Chisel's Saturday Night, the former seeing Noonan take up a drum to peacefully bring beat to Schaupp's tremolo. Both songs made it clear that Noonan takes everyone on a vocal and lyrical journey. She feels every lyric and doesn't hide her preparation in belting out these almost superhuman notes that have the crowd shaking their head in disbelief. The warm Bless This House completed the night, leaving the audience with thoughts of Noonan's mother singing the tune to her daughter as a child.

Truth be told, Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp don't need to bullshit; their talent speaks for itself. As soon as they began the room was dead silent and the mood seldom altered throughout the course of the night. Australia would struggle to find musicians who could compete with the precision of this duo.