REVIEW: Fly My Pretties Live in Melbourne, 05/11/2011

**For more amazing photos check: http://thelazywanker.blogspot.com/


It struck me, as I was casually demolishing a footlong at the nearby Subway during the intermission of Fly My Pretties' only Melbourne performance, that this eclectic, funky, and creatively brilliant group of individuals might go unnoticed amidst the chaos of the Melbourne music scene. By this point I had sat through the first act of the show, an extraordinary set of brand new material for the upcoming fourth album, and I knew it would be an absolute crime if this show wasn't reviewed by someone. Hopefully someone else will. Like an actual reviewer.... But until then, here we go!

**Let me throw in a disclaimer here that I am in no way a professional reviewer, and I didn't take any notes during the performance. Hence, I may mix up the performer's names, and forget the song titles... Please feel free to comment and let me know what to fix! Right, on with it!**


So... Fly My Pretties. In Melbourne. When I saw the poster for this, I could barely contain my excitement. I then channelled my energy into conveying this excitement into finding a friend to accompany on this special concert event. I created a "facebook event " (as the kids are calling it these days) and I was immediately faced with the issue of how to describe and convey the magic of the Fly My Pretties collective into words. All I could manage was "They're awesome", and then post several links to the youtube videos of some FMP songs.

And now, basking the in the post-gig glow, I face the same problem. How do I summarise the immense energy, light, colour, and musical artistry that I witnessed not 24 hours earlier?

It was awesome.

But we'll get to that. First things first. Eva Prowse.

I think I'm in love. Not only does she tap into my secret adoration of foxy redheads, but she also taps into not-so-secret adoration of highly talented people, and she's funny. *Swoon*. Not only is she extremely alluring in appearance, but then she picked up a violin, and a guitar, and cracked jokes! I would like to take her out for nice seafood dinner, and then ACTUALLY call her the next day. Obviously I couldn't eat the seafood because I'm allergic. I'd probably have a steak. Or chicken.

However, singing and playing a variety of instruments is not a quality unique to Ms Prowse. In fact all 16 sixteen musicians share these talents. Guess I'll take them all out for nice seafood dinners. Damn, that's a lot of lobster...

But joking aside, the chances are pretty high that if you're reading this you are well aware of the Fly My Pretties concept, so I'll skip the history lesson and get into the good bits.

The show opened with the emergence of some of the artists, lead by the main man Barnaby Weir, to a round of slightly unsure and polite applause from the Melbourne crowd. This potentially underwhelmingly response from the crowd would be in stark contrast to the rapturous standing ovation FMP would receive in three and half hours time.

Then Hayley King AKA Flox took a stencil and a spray-can to an Over-head projector (high school flashback), carving out the iconic bird that serves as the visual motif for Fly My Pretties 4. The bird then took off, a perfect introduction to the visuals that would serve to accompany the oncoming music, and a cleverly seamless shift between old technology and new.

And then cue Mr Weir. Within the few bars of the opening track Priority Rock I was hooked. What makes the Fly My Pretties so strong is the variety of artists and music styles represented, but for my tastes, I love it best when they rock. And rock the did. In fact, when Weir changed it up mid-tune I was left aching for a return to the first part! But it calmed myself. There was still plenty of Fly My Pretties to come...

What makes the concept so strong for me is the seamless nature that the artists move from instrument to instrument, backing vocals to lead. And with that, singer in the line-up came forth to deliver a couple of pieces of magic. No weak links in this cast. I was blown away firstly by the inherent sexiness of the female performers, but then the beauty of their performances. First up, LA Mitchell, who graced us with a tune about breaking up. Then a tune about falling in love (hopefully the events occurred in this order...) The second song, Apple Heart, I found myself particularly enamoured of. Beautiful stuff.

From there we were treated to a fantastic selection of tunes by the likes of the aforementioned Eva Prowse, Amiria Grenell (Lyttleton represent!), FMP veteran Age Pryor, Flip Grater, Anna Coddington, Fran Kora, the immensely deep Justin Clarke, Fran Kora, and the Blues-y growl of Ryan Prebble. Hard (and probably unfair) to pick highlights, but a touching tribute to a friend who had fallen to cancer, and Fran Kora's Christchurch-inspired tune were amongst the more poignant moments. Being a Christchurch man myself, it was impossible not to get a litle emotional at the mention of my shaky home town.

As beautiful as these tunes were, we'd moved away from the the upbeat opening track. Time to bring it home. Step up Aaron Tokona.

It took me a while to recognise the man, since his hair was substantially longer than the last time I'd seen him (youtube clip for Calling On). But when it was time to rock, Tokona, like all the singers before him, took his spot centre stage. Like the others, he offered a brief explanation of the themes and motivations of his tune Ode To The World. And when he said "this song is about six guitars and two drum-kits" you knew it was going to be EPIC.

And after a thumping, full-ensemble belter Turnaround to end the first act, we hit the second, a selection of some the best hits of the first three Fly My Pretties albums. The atmosphere was electric, as the Melbourne audience found their voices during the first chords of Singing In My Soul, and didn't stop singing until the last note of Let's Roll. Repeated shout-outs for Bag of Money were rewarded, and the superb renditions of Heavy Weather, Lucky, and Catch the Light had the crowd on their feet. You can't argue with the choice of songs, although had Adi Dick been in the current line-up we could've had a bit of Foresight, and I probably would've lost my shit. What a tune.

Overall, it was an outstanding show. Technically flawless (aside from a small issue with the Epicentre guitar) and a big shoutout to the techies in the orchestra pit who spent most the time rocking out! Flox's visuals were beautiful, always in harmony with the songs, and never overpowering. The performances were out of this world, each musician moving seamlessly between songs and instrument. The level of musicianship amongst this group is truly awe-inspiring... I don't know how they do it. Big respect to Mike Fabulous, Jarney Murphy, James Coyle, Nigel Patterson, and the wild-child drumming (and fake drumming) of Iraia Whakamoe.

Despite repeated plays of the first three FMP albums I was still blown away by this performance. Live... it's just another beast. The energy, the performances, and surprisingly the level of humility and comic timing. It was like a hanging out with a bunch of your most amazingly attractive, talented, musician mates. In your lounge. If your lounge had three tiers of seats and a ripping sound system. To top it off, there was something quintessentially KIWI about it all. And that is probably the hardest thing to describe. So I won't bother to try. But it made me want to crack the L&P and a Cookie Time and sit down to some Campbell Live. Aotearoa!

I hope that Melbourne becomes a regular spot on the Fly My Pretties tours in the future. They have earned their place. They certainly won over what few people in the audience weren't already massive fans. What a night. What a group.

And if anyone out there is good friends with Eva Prowse, put in a good word for me. I'm awesome.