KD Lang fans were undeterred by the high chance of being drenched in pouring rain as they huddled close to each other at Sandlalford Estate on Saturday for the first show of the Canadian crooner’s Australian tour.
At exactly eight o’clock Lang and her new backing band The Siss Boom Bang took to the stage dressed in matching red, white and black outfits, Lang with a guitar on her back, and launched into I Confess the lead single from her latest album.
Lang comically introduced one song as ‘from one of the all time great country bands, Talking Heads’, before launching into her version of the New York art house bands Heaven which led to one of the show’s highlights.
As Heaven wound down to its final chords it morphed into the unmistakable opening notes of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Lang was about to sing one of her signature tunes, a song that has been covered by so many artists but truly mastered by only a few, the feeling of anticipation was electrifying. And her delivery of the tune was flawless, showcasing her power of her voice. The audience responded with a mid-show standing ovation.
While the show focused largely on Lang’s latest album the ‘return to form’ Sing it Loud the show was peppered with hits from throughout her career including Summerfling from 2000’s Invincible Summer and Miss Chantelaine from the 1993 soundtrack to Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
A sleek version of The Little River Bands Reminiscing went down well with the predominately older crowd and as Lang started to dance around the stage; the audience took the cue to start grooving.
Before pulling out a banjo Lang warned audience members that ‘any pulling feeling they felt towards the stage was perfectly natural’, as she had recently discovered that the banjo is a ‘chick magnet’.
Catching security unaware, a wave of women rushed forwarded turning the VIP section into a mosh pit as Lang cranked out a grungy rockier version of her biggest hit Constant Craving.
The audience was treated to two encores, including a comical sing around the microphone of one of Lang’s early country hits Paydirt, from her 1987 album Angel with a Lariat before the show closed with a sublime rendition of A Kiss to build a Dream On.
Despite the rain and cold winds it was a perfect performance from one the world’s most versatile artists.
Graeme Watson
