Live Review: Kimbra, Banoffee

“I will reign down,” sing three ‘Banoffee’s – well, one Martha Brown backed by pre-recorded harmonies.

Despite being just one person on a large stage, Brown does her best to reign over the crowd, tapping at sample pads, kicking switches and pushing keys while delivering chill R&B melodies in that crystalline voice. Brown’s long white jacket and fluorescent-coloured onesie reflect the lights as she grooves on the spot and we follow suit; her Balearic beats make it easy. She dedicates Ninja to her sister (“She comes to every show and she’s pretty much the strongest person I know”) and finishes with her “one song that’s kinda boogie-ish”, Let’s Go To The Beach. The talented producer receives a well-deserved, enthusiastic farewell and has no doubt nabbed new fans.

Kimbra certainly makes an entrance, walking onto the decked-out stage wearing a fuck-off huge, fluffy robe and Lita-style, mega-high platform boots.

The band bewilders with an intro instrumental featuring crunchy, industrial beats and noises – the drummer looks straight out of a hard rock band, if you can spot him behind all the cymbals, and the bassist has more funk than blue cheese – but as they kick off with a stadium-sized version of Teen Heat and dial up the mania of 90s Music, it all makes sense. Extended, spiralling outros, beefy bass bits and attention-stealing solos are par for the course this evening. Everything’s elevated.

Kimbra removes the robe to reveal a dress that looks like it’s made from repurposed scrap metal (it’s probably silver plastic) and the effect is mesmerising: she moves her hips and shoulders and the stiff dress, its skirt about five Kimbras in diameter, stays put, only seesaw-ing a bit. It’s a dress that encapsulates Kimbra and her music: it’s glitzy yet unconcerned with elegance, futuristic-leaning and a bit awkward, but oh so fun! And nothing about it is subdued.

Settle Down is one of a handful of older tracks that makes an appearance; the Vows tunes get the loudest cheers. This rendition features mad keyboard shredding and the audience shouts the “Hey! Oh-OH!” part with gusto. Kimbra’s sheer effervescence and stage presence, and the band’s energy give songs from The Golden Echo the extra spark that might have been missing on the recording. The real highlight is that voice, though, which unfortunately gets drowned out occasionally by the band throughout the set. However, encore song one, As You Are, allows Kimbra one more chance to really showcase the light and shade of her vocals, since she’s accompanied only by piano. Kimbra walks the line between control and nuance, and barely-restrained excitement – that’s what makes her shows so thrilling to witness.