Meg MacThe back entrance to the Australian Open Live stage is sun-swept and sweltering this Thursday afternoon, with people taking shade under fern-draped umbrellas to watch the tennis on the big screen. The outskirts of the complex are a maze, but we finally make our way to the live entertainment.
Angie McMahon plugs in her guitar and after some quick welcomes, begins plucking solo. Her voice has gravelly warmth to it and can snap from whisper-quiet to tornado-strong within the space of two notes, setting a strong precedent for the vocal-heavy performances that would dominate the rest of the evening. Wearing shorts, white shirt, blue cap and shades, she tenderly and methodically moves through material both released and unreleased, making the most of her drummer and bassist, who looks Frank Zappa on a Tuesday night in (so great!). In between bites of pizza supplied via her manager, Missing Me is a highlight with its jolty intro chords and crowd-favourite Slow Mover closes out the set. Extra brownie points to McMahon for slaying a cover of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours outtake Silver Springs. A strong opening set.
To the main event and once all seven band members take their positions on stage it's not long before Meg Mac wafts to centre stage as people scramble toward the barricades. Mac's presence is immediate. Wasting not a second she reminds folks why she supported D'Angelo on his North American tour with only a single EP out. Her voice is sultry-smooth, but hard-edged at times, with vocal runs and sustained high notes effortlessly woven in. Immediately apparent also is her knack for hooks and strong songwriting, which help carry her set.
Dressed in signature all-black everything, including a hat with a huge brim, she steadily ploughs through deeper cuts Cages and Brooklyn Apartment (It's Louder Than The TV And The Radio) from her album Low Blows. Reducing her Like A Version cover of Tame Impala's Let It Happen to a funeral dirge, the song slowly picks up to end in a cacophonous last chorus. Maybe It's My First Time with its Motown backbeat means more dancing.
Keeping banter to a minimum, Mac does endearingly admit she fell over as she was entering the stage space, but we didn't notice a thing! Mac's set feels like a lead-up to the bridge in Never Be and this barnstormer is delivered in a fiery, pitch-perfect fashion. Roll Up Your Sleeves off her 2014 EP is the last torchbearer of a tune for the evening and it never fails to sound simultaneously relevant and like a forgotten-era classic.
As Mac and her band say farewell, the gleaming blue of the Australian Open tennis courts broadcast over the big screens so that people can continue watching matches after the entertainment finishes. Now to find a swimming pool, or an ice-cold drink from one of the bustling bars around Birrarung Marr.
