Review - Lynda
Wehipeihana + Cathy Gibson + Rachel Gaudry
@ Harbourside
Brasserie 18 August 1999
In the space of a week I have
been privileged to see two sides of Rachel
Gaudry - last week it was running the show and enthralling the
whole audience with the whole band in a tribute night. This week it's solo with
the Rhodes in the dreaded opening set for a CD launch in a Joni
Mitchell-meets-Judie
Tzuke style complete with the vocal range and emotion. Rachel
wasn't quite able to captivate the whole audience tonight but those she did
were completely under her spell, with the standout performance of New Day, complete with the Robbie
(Doors)
Kruger
middle-8.
Next on the agenda was Cathy
Gibson and there was little time wasted in changing the stage around to
accommodate her. Cathy's was another solo set, this one with an acoustic
steel-string (a Gibson!) and a folk-styled presentation reminiscent of Joan
Baez and/or Joni
Mitchell. This performance was not as capturing as the previous
set, although the same few that were rapt in Rachel
were attentive to but not as impressed by Cathy who would probably have gone
down better at a folk-fest or a quiet cafe. The songs in which the highly
placed capo was used would be better played on a mandolin, too.
The rapid transitions continued
and it was soon revealed that the main set would feature up to nine players on
the small Harbourside stage. Keys, percussion, brass - there would be no doubt
as to the musical setting of the rest of tonight's proceedings. The band soon
struck up the intro and with the flurry of the night's MC, whom I was led to
believe was Steve
(songsalive!) Kiely, Lynda Wehipeihana was soon getting
right into the job at hand, which was to launch her new independent CD "Larger Than Life" through My Label. Lynda's
appearance and style is very Kate
Ceberano and she is totally into what she does. It was a short set
tonight, and despite the large audience-participation spot in which CDs were
given away, the energy flow and up-vibe weren't lost for a moment. Standouts
from the set included the George
Benson Turn Your Love Around cover,
the song for her ex-husband I Wanna Be
With You and the set closer Live Your
Dreams.
There were a few technical
hitches from the sound desk for which Lynda
was in no hurry to show her contempt, but the night was a totally excellent
evening of music and some amazing musicianship from the band which included Steve
Edmonds on guitar (a frustrated rock-god mix of Rex Goh, Eddie
Van
Halen and Joe
Walsh) and Phil Ceberano guesting on an almost
calypso version of Hunters
& Collectors standard Throw
Your Arms Around Me. All up, a great taster of an album and/or career that
should surely score more friends as airplay and other support continues.