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
