Sia at the Fitzgerald and live on 89.3 The Current 10/31/2007

Last night in downtown St. Paul, a pencil played the drums, an unfortunate with a saw blade through his skull looked seriously disgruntled on the cello, and a label-defying, plastic-wrapped, broom-wielding, foil-topped mad man sat at the keyboards.  Along with Dr. Dick (reportedly a proctologist) and a St. Tropez sunbather, these Halloween spirited musicians made up the backing band for one of the spookiest girls loose in the cities on Halloween.  The Current presented Sia in a listener appreciation concert at the Fitzgerald.  I was part of the around sixty audience members that were at the Fitzgerald by raffle drawing or invite that were treated to a five song set by Sia and her band, hosted by Mark Wheat.  The performance was also a live broadcast.

On stage, Sia had that freedom of movement that someone who is not only comfortable with what they are wearing displays, but that they really, really like how what they are wearing feels.  For Sia, it happened to be leggings, a giant puffy gourd, furry ears, and a nose. As a recent transplant to the US and having to make her first costume choices, she said she hadn’t realized that an orange pumpkin outfit was clichéd and had to try to counteract this mistake by adding a dog mask.  She even mastered drinking out of a wine glass and singing into a microphone while dressed that way.  And she did the latter very well.

In her “Pump-dog” costume, Sia’s brand of Halloween spooky was closer to goofy.  I’m still undecided about whether or not Sia’s writhing innocence was annoying or cute. I had serious doubts about whether or not she would be able to sell her music while dressed like a deflated great pumpkin, but when she opened her mouth—to sing—the hyper-focus on how her body felt costumed fell away and her Sia’s voice stood out as the main focus of the moment.  She did three songs off of her upcoming January 2008 cd release,  “Little Black Sandals,” “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine,” and the title track “Some People Have Real Problems.”  The top ten YouTube video hit, “Buttons” and the money song (the TV has been good to her), “Breathe Me” were also included in the set.  I have to confess (I don’t really, but I am) that I was never a huge Sia fan.  Her studio recordings were nice.  Hearing her sing live is a different matter.  Just a bit more power there, even when obscured by a plastic puppy nose.  I’m always annoyed when the main focus of an artist’s show becomes the one big hit that everyone knows, but I’m saying that last night it was “Breathe Me.”  Sia’s live performance of this song was, for me, so much more effective than simply listening or watching a video.  Even if it’s accompanied by PostSecrets.  That’s kind of a big duh, but you had to be there.  You should have been.

So now, I know I like Sia live.  I like her voice live.  I’m going to check out Lady Croissant, her spring 2007 release of live recordings, and imagine her in a puffy pumpkin singing through a plastic nose.

So thank you, The Current, for the opportunity to see Sia.  For the rest of you, check her out in Minneapolis tonight at The Varsity.

P.S. To the Minnesota music crowds, can we show a little more enthusiasm?  Um, I will if you do...