Newcastle Civic Theatre
Saturday 15 June 2024
Reviewer / Photographer : Jo Forster
Arriving to the Civic Theatre in Newcastle, we were greeted by a gorgeous art deco style building, filled with many stories and much history. A venue befitting of the act we were there to experience – Missy Higgins certainly has a lot of stories to tell and thankfully she shows no signs of stopping any time soon.
The Second Act Tour 2024 is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of her debut album The Sound of White and an introduction of her upcoming release, The Second Act. The evening comprised two sets with no support act. The first half filled with a performance of songs and stories spanning her over 20 year career as a songwriter, celebrating her love of music, where it all began and unfolded as well as inspiration behind each track. We were privileged to hear very new songs which will be featured on her new album due for release on 17 September, one so new in fact it was only recorded two weeks prior to the night. The second half comprising her seminal album The Sound of White in its entirety.
Missy took to the stage in her unassuming and humble yet confident way, taking her seat behind the baby grand and explaining how the evening would unfold. The beloved Australian performer treated the capacity crowd to songs from her boarding school days, right through to new material from the upcoming album, explaining as she went that writing and recording The Second Act was a cathartic experience for her as she processed the end of her marriage which ended two and a half years ago. One song particularly told of her heartbreak on the night the six year marriage to comedian Dan Lee ended, ever so publicly yet privately at the same time. It was New Years’ Eve 2021 and Missy had spent the day in tears as she prepared to perform on Sydney Harbour in an ABC TV live broadcast wearing her favourite blue velvet dress. Little did her captivated audience know the strength it would have taken the young singer to wipe away the tears and celebrate the start of a new year as she was beginning to mourn the loss of her relationship and navigate the challenges of co-parenting her two young children. Another new tune was dedicated to her five year old innocently curious daughter, trying to answer the many difficult questions posed by her little one as she becomes more aware of the differences between her new family dynamic and household compared to those in her story books and those of her school friends.
Missy performed her very relatable stories armed with only her baby grand and her acoustic guitar and joined intermittently by four of her incredible backing band supporting her on vocal arrangements for some of the tracks. Despite the narrative of this act, there were many uplifting moments as we were taken on a journey of self-discovery and realisation that there is light at the end of darkness. With therapy and the passage of time, the young artist has come out the other end with hope for the future and a willingness to open herself up to new relationships once more although with some trepidation, wise to the fact that there are many broken people out there with their own stories as told in one new song, ‘You Better Run’.
A brief intermission and we returned eager to enjoy the second half of the evening and her live performance of The Sound of White. A darkened stage was backlit with projections on a cyclorama and audio of Missy recorded at the very start of her luminous career as she was chosen as the winner of Triple J Unearthed. As she returned to the stage, this time with her full band, Missy told us how she had been laughing backstage listening to her nineteen year old self saying she was amazed at how far she’d come and how different she now was – forty year old Higgins mocked and explained that young woman was only talking about a ‘long’ twelve months!
A costume change into an ornate white jacket by Anna Cordell Clothing and tailored shorts, (the custom suit hand stitched and completed in one hundred hours by Marda Couture), with the females in her band cloaked in sheer white long dresses and the males in all black, saw the stage decorated in tribute to her first album. Special mention must be made to the beautiful stage and lighting design by Kait Hall of Let There Be Light Designs. The projections coupled with the understated, yet striking lighting complimented the performance without distracting from it at all. My only disappointment was not being able to capture the entire evening as there were so many picture perfect moments thanks to this talented lady.
Backed by a seven piece band comprising Jack Ward, Zoe Hauptman, Elana Stone, Matt Green, Sarah Belkner, Louise Horwood and Leigh Fisher, all very accomplished and talented musicians and made for a wonderful soundscape throughout the beautiful old theatre. I was especially impressed by the skilful playing by bass player, Zoe who interchanged seamlessly between harmonies with her counterparts and commanding playing of her double bass and then electric bass – so much going on there but being fresh from touring with legendary Ian Moss, those instruments were in very capable hands, and she made it all look so very easy.
Shamefully this was my first experience seeing the ARIA award winner and trailblazing artist live, and what an incredible introduction. The night has certainly inspired me to see her live again and I can easily see how she has inspired so many young women including artists such as Amy Shark, Gretta Ray and Angie McMahon. The Second Act Tour continues with shows in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin and Canberra but if you haven’t scooped up your tickets yet, I wouldn’t delay any further as 37 shows of the tour sold out with 70,000 tickets sold within days of release.
With thanks to Frontier Touring and Eleven Music.
