Meg MacMec Mac showcased her powerful melodies and soulful voice to a young crowd of eager fans that didn't miss a single chance to join in and sing along.
Mac is touring Australia to support her first album Low Blows and is playing almost all sold-out dates around the country. She is supported by Perth pop/indie/rockers The Money War. The duo, Dylan Ollivierre and Carmen Pepper, are also with LittleBIGMAN Records.
The crowd were treated to an energetic performance of almost 20 songs as Meg Mac was joined on stage by a band comprising of drum, bass, guitar, keys and her younger sister on backing vocals.
It was a dynamic showcase, the full sound of the band often dropping out and leaving the vocals to shine - creating interesting contrasts within each song. Grace Gold, for example, saw Mac singing the first few phrases a capella before the other instruments joined in. On Shiny Bright, Mac accompanied herself on piano leaving the nuances in her voice - like its slight raspiness - beautifully exposed.
Though there was a full band on stage it felt like there was a noticeable detachment between solo artist and band. Although their role was clearly to support, there was probably room within the set to have longer instrumental sections showcasing other instruments and allowing the vocal-heavy songs to breathe. Our need to hear a sparser arrangement highlighting the rhythm section was fully satisfied with Grandma's Hands, which began with the band members' intricate rhythmical claps before slowly building into a wash of sounds.
The whole band left the stage for Saint Philomene. The song isn't included on her album but we can see why Mac performs it on the tour, her use of the loop pedal is mesmerising live. Starting by recording a few 'uuuhs', Mac then sang the first verse before creating a kick by beating her chest with her fist. She added mouth clicks to build up the harmony and continued singing the rest of the song, leaving the crowd cheering loudly by the end.
As the band left the stage for a second time, it was predictable there would be an encore; Never Be is a great song to end on but the set was did not feel finished until she sang her hit Roll Up Your Sleeves.
