LIVE REVIEW: Caiti Baker has a killer voice and sweet moves
The Indi Bar is an odd place. Just a few streets back from the beach, it’s almost golden triangle but not quite, a relic of 70’s style architecture resisting the pressure the refurbish and renovate. There’s a diverse crowd as well - from rowdies shouting to each other across the crowd, a few punks with a dash of rockabilly, a cluster of middle aged women, and two 20 something women in flowing tops and skinny jeans who were worried the white wine the were ordering would be too woody. A diminutive post adolescent girl decided to prove how poorly she could handle her alcohol and was removed from the bar in the company of her friends.
In the midst of all this drama I thought surely there would be problems getting the attention of the audience. I was wrong. EDDE astonished the audience into (near) silence with an impossibly high range and beautiful melodies. It’s hard to believe that she has only been playing guitar for 8 months. With songs touching on topics like chronic illness, indigenous mental health and the me too movement, EDDE is a singer songwriter who will touch your heart and mind with her authentic lyrics and delicious melodies.
Ruby May is an emerging legend of the Perth Jazz scene. She is, in fact, a frigging star, having gone from a solo act to a seven piece over the last couple of years. Let down at first by some dodgy mixing by the sound guy, her belting voice was soon coming through clearly. Ruby led the crowd through a sing-a-long to All This Is, one of the tracks from her ep Kodachrome released in March this year. Her new track, 91%, about women feeling good about their bodies in a world where this is a subversive act was a rallying cry, and part of the feminist thread woven through the all female lineup.
Caiti Baker rocked it with sweet dance moves and a strong voice that was barely contained by the space she was singing in. Immediately one of the seemingly staid middle aged ladies jumped up and started dancing directly in front of the stage, not stopping until the set finished. She was soon joined by a couple slow dancing to an inspired Irma Thomas cover, causing half the audience watching to break out in goofy grins. Caiti has the rare ability, like the Indi Bar, to straddle several worlds at once and moves smoothly from neo soul the the country grit of Rough Old Town with ease. Her RnB track Thursday was dedicated to all the ladies in the house, while gospel style Believer was introduced as ‘not a religious song, but you take what you want from it”. Whatever genre she embraced, the crowd followed, dancing and singing along with enthusiasm.
This is the last time Caiti will be touring her debut album Zinc, which only leads me to hope she has new material and will shortly be releasing a new album.
In the meantime, you check out Zinc here:
