Missy Higgins  1.12.12
Brisbane Convention Centre

Missy Higgins is a woman I’d like to have a drink with.  Brash, natural, loud and distinctly aussie, her return to the stage after a quiet retirement from music in 2010 was filled with the light-hearted hits of her break into music and the soul-searching, mature tunes of her new album ‘The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle’.  She’s the kind of girl who won’t play encore’s because they’re a bit of ‘silly hoo-ha’ and accidentally shouts an expletive when she starts off on a dodgy note.  She’s real, she’s loud, and she’s back for another taste of the music business.

Missy’s initial appearance was not during her own set, as she joined her support Dr. Geoffery Gurrumul Yunupingu (more widely known as Gurrumul), for a spellbinding duet.  The roar that greeted Gurrumul as he was led on stage rivalled Higgins’, as I think we all felt honoured to enjoy the beautiful songs divulging into indigenous wildlife, fathers and the artists own blindness.  His flawless guitar plucking accompanied by the double bass and drums created a serene sound that has earned him the moniker of ‘Australia’s most important voice.’

It was after this privilege that Missy strode on stage without a fuss, took up position at her keyboard and opened her set with ‘Hidden Ones’ and ‘Set Me On Fire’ from her new album ‘The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle’.

Revisiting her initial fame with ‘Ten Days and ‘Peachy’ got the crowd nostalgic for the mousy, frizzy haired Missy that strummed and pounded her way into our hearts in 2004 with her debut album ‘The Sound of White’.  But it was ‘This is How It Goes’ and my personal favourite ‘Where I Stood’ that showed that the girl from Melbourne, despite her rough-around-the-edges personality, her soaring voice as smooth and powerful as her lyrics.  But it was ‘Everyone’s Waiting’ that appeared to be one of the most emotional songs of the set, as it reflects Missy’s retirement and the pressure of her impending return before the release of her new album.

Before long the tone had gone back to light-hearted, and the audience was erupting in a cavalcade of animal noises to accompany her song ‘Watering Hole’ (the process of recording which utilised large quantities of tequila), followed by a previously unheard song about the QLD Floods.

Singer/songwriter Butterfly Boucher, who had been providing the guitar riffs and harmonies as accompaniment then took to the stage alone (as per Missy’s request) to perform her original track ‘Warning Bell’, her sound also ringing out in a breathlessly unique manner.  The song was sombre, but soon Missy returned with the hopelessly romantic ‘The Special Two’.

And then it was that time of evening when the artist would usually say their goodbyes, walk offstage, sulk in the wings for a few moments and then return to rapturous applause for their encore – but Missy simply bypassed the whole affair by launching into the all too familiar opening chords of arguably her most iconic track ‘Scar’, accosting the audience with a smile on her face to sing “louder!”  And finally, deciding to end on a positive note, she ended her set with the life affirming ‘Steer’.

So despite her new slick blonde do’ and the fancy clothes (never any shoes, though) she’s still the same old piano playing, foot stomping Missy that Australia fell in love with back in 2004.  The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle Tour makes for a pleasant evening for lovers of some quality home-grown music.

–          Danielle Muir