FRIDAY, 3RD OCTOBER – ‘SOUL DIVAS’ AT MEMO MUSIC HALL, ST KILDA
There’s Soul…and then there are Soul Divas.
On a balmy Friday night in Spring, it was time to head to the live music institution that is MEMO Music Hall, for “a celebration of one the greatest female voices of all time, sung by Sarah C” and backed by her very tight and talented band.
On entry to the venue, I met some energetic characters working the door and behind the bar, each of them obviously proud in playing their parts in vibing with members of the audience at one of Melbourne’s finest live music jewels, Memo, a space that offers an intimate room with rich and clear sound supporting a plethora of performers.
Waiting excitedly at my cabaret table, I knew I would be listening to some timeless soulful hits once sung by famous divas, but I had no idea how close Sarah C’s voice, and her talented band would come to the authenticity of those favourites.
Sarah C is known for her powerhouse voice and dynamic and glamourous stage presence. She’s done lead vocals on TV’s Dancing with the Stars and backing vocals on ‘X Factor’ as well as backing for big names like Kylie Minogue, Jessica Mauboy, Paulini, Tania Doko and Ross Wilson – but this lady belongs front and centre.
Sarah’s ‘Forever Whitney’ show tours nationally and has sold-out venues across Melbourne, including The Palms at Crown. Now an international recording artist, her recent credits include singing for Oscar winners, Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon.
That’s not surprising. Her voice is both powerful and emotive, technically excellent and, by taking us on a journey through every song, inspiring of human connection.
Sarah has also created original music – a debut EP, ‘Fearless’; working with Mobin Master (as her alias, ‘Carerra’) on the track ‘Werk’, gaining two million streams on Spotify; and has collaborations with dance/house gurus including Ian Carey, Jolyon Petch and Ron Carroll, with releases on Ministry of Sound, Hed Kandi, Vicious, One Love, Safari and Shock records.
So, Sarah C is clearly versatile as well as vivacious, but it was her tribute to the soul divas of the world we were there to hear that Friday night and her incredible ‘Soul Divas’ show not only took on some of the most iconic voices of all time, she’s totally conquered some of the most iconic songs of all time.
While many singers take a whole show to lead up to a couple of these hard-hitting soul classics, Sarah gifted the audience with her unique talent and power straight up over two hours and with hit after hit.
Singing ‘Love is a Losing Game’ and ‘Back to Black’ from Amy Winehouse’s second and final studio album of the same name, Sarah and the band exquisitely captured the mournful mood in ‘Back to Black’, contrasted against its’ retro/60’s Pop girl sound.
I was delighted to hear Renee Geyer’s inclusion in the mix of Soul Divas, Renee’s powerhouse voice irreplaceable since 1975. I was so “Ready to Deal” with Sarah’s rendition of ‘Heading in the right direction’ and she nailed it. After that, Sarah slipped an original into the mix, ‘My World Was you’, her own soulful invention, that fit comfortably, smoothly and stylishly amongst this nights’ repertoire, just as slick as any of the classics we were here to love:
– Tina Arena’s power ballad, ‘I’m in Chains’;
– Adele’s ‘Set fire to the rain’;
– Aretha Franklin’s ‘Natural Woman’;
– Tina Turner’s ‘Rollin’ on the river’ …and so many more great songs were mastered.
Closing my eyes during some of these songs, I could’ve sworn I was sitting right there in the room with Amy or Adele.
The show was already amazing and then we got to the finale with Whitney Houston’s songs from The Bodyguard film.
It’s unusual to hear anyone sing ‘I have nothing’ or ‘I will always love you’ with the emotion and skill the originals deserve but once more, we were in for a rare treat.
It’s always a pleasure to watch a slick band and while Sarah conducted hers, the band showed us as much heart as they had talent. Multi- instrumentalist, Hayden Baird killed it on the Saxophone and also played keys in the show. His sax solo during ‘I will always love you’ was perfection.
Damien Thomas mastered his guitar riffs.
Drummer, Jay Bruno, a steady strength with every song, syncopated with Billy Cooper on bass.
Billy’s popping slap bass kept us in the pocket all night, Billy also adding some funk to Sarah’s soul – his swag was shades of Larry Grahame from Sly and the Family Stone.
Jade Talbot played the keyboard and contrasted backing vocals, also singing a duet or two with Sarah C, Jade’s dulcet notes of angelic clarity matched against Sarah’s sonorous and smoky vocals.
The band played as one, their camaraderie warm and tangible. The audience could see the respect they had for Sarah and the gentle authority she had with her “family” of musicians.
People of all ages and styles were up to dance before the interval and were also fully focused in fandom towards Sarah and the band on stage.
Like a true diva, Sarah had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand and kept them wanting more.
There’s soul and then there are soul divas. And Sarah Capodicasa is truly one of them.
To book tickets to Soul Divas, please visit https://www.memomusichall.com.au/memo-gig/sarah-c-presents-soul-divas/.
