The Chamber at THE QUEENS, Thu 18 Mar.

Carla Lippis follows her band on stage and immediately rips into an up-tempo no-holds-barred rock anthem. Had I been expecting light cabaret my illusions would have been shattered instantly, luckily I wasn’t. We had been warned she was here with new original songs reflecting on recent times.

But nothing stays in one place as Carla steps effortlessly into cabaret mode and delivers some powerful and interesting ballads. With a spectacular voice and the right amount of stagecraft, this is a classy performance.

The band very capably follows Carla into all of her dark corners, able to apply a sledgehammer to the heavier rock numbers where required, while handling the cabaret ballads with great sensitivity and taste.

Carla’s between song patter is extremely funny, from comparing herself to the venue (“a tarted up empty shell”) to introducing guitarist Geoff Crowther as “my current husband”. Listing some of the things she’d been called over the years (“Liza Minelli for Bogans”), she was clearly revelling in her bad girl image, while simultaneously delivering with style and panache. She has been in some dark places during COVID (her parents’ couch) but she is delighted to be out and strutting her stuff in front of an audience once again.

The Chamber at THE QUEENS provided a perfect atmosphere for this concert, although stuck in a pocket where the sound was not as good, made it difficult to hear the words of the songs. No doubt the experience was all the better for those who could.