Black Medusa in a Brown Velvet Suit

Natalie Gillespie CD Launch My Hetti Prince
Fly By Night Club, Fremantle 31 May 2003

A capacity crowd at the Fly eagerly awaited the appearance of Natalie Gillespie, here to showcase the songs from her debut album, My Hetti Prince.

Making her way on stage, looking like a black Medusa in a brown velvet suit, Gillespie’s on stage presence dominated from the start. Opening with Shine, a shiver of goose bumps, and that strut she does so well, Ms Gillespie let us have it. Follow that up with Constant Shyness co- written with Milton Starr acoustic guitarist Howie Morgan and Running Home written by Gillespie as homage to the sex workers she befriended while living in King’s Cross, you’ve got a smack bang in your eye, make you cry, opening to a gig that delivered the lot.

Singing her songs from the inside out, Gillespie then treated us to an emotional Tear Us Apart, part lullaby, part lament, putting her body on the line as a vessel for song. She follows this up with Dances Alone co- written with Matt Palmer, encircling the theme of alienation, with soul.

The duet performed with Steve Muslovic, Bridal Waltz, a song about domestic violence leads Gillespie into a powerful extension of her vocal talent, and Gillespie and Muslovic dancing together as a metaphor for the dangerous dance that domestic violence can be, lends a sense of brutal intimacy.

Interspersing the set with some of her funkier upbeat numbers like City of Angels, Uncertainty, and God Knows adds balance and perspective to an original repertoire that is encored with the classic, Cold Chisel’s Flame Trees sung like you want to hear it- with passion. Finally, we hear Yolngu Man, Gillespie’s tribute to Maundaway Yunnipingu, uplifting, inspiring and full of love.

Moving with sinuous grace, exercising her power as an accomplished singer/songwriter and backed by her band Milton Starr: Freddie Gregson lead guitar, Jarrod Pizzata on drums, Roy Martinez bass guitar, Howie Morgan acoustic guitar and Neil Anderson on keyboards, Gillespie lets us know a major new talent has stood up to be counted.

The promo for Gillespie’s CD launch poses the question: “ Are you ready to have your ears kissed?” Well, not only were they kissed, they were licked, nibbled and ultimately, seduced.

Gillespie performs regularly at the Universal Bar, Northbridge on Thursdays and The Left Bank, Fremantle on Fridays and Sundays, catch her while you can, this chick is gonna fly.

CD: Natalie Gillespie, My Hetti Prince (56 min)
Producers: Jeremy Allom, Roy Martinez
Available: 78 Records, Da Da’s, Mills.

By Shonna Grant-Sheno
Aynum Magazine