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Any concert held at the Perth Concert Hall immediately brings with it a sense of theatre and elegance. Moreso when the musician, who is better known for their alternative rock persuasions, decides to be backed by a full orchestra. Megan Washington, one of Australia’s well loved artists performed a selection of love songs – covers and new material from her yet to be released album Sugardoom, delivering a performance that was personal and sumptuous but yet also seemed to keep the audience at arm’s distance.

The visual of seeing the full Western Australian Symphony Orchestra was in itself a sight to behold, however this all went to another level once the pregnant Washington came out looking like a jazz singer with a tousled bob, black velvet dress and port wine heels to begin with Achilles Heart a sprightly song transcended by the multitude of LED light poles that were placed across the stage and hung from the rafters like stalactites in a cave from which Washington performed. Becoming an integral part of the performance, the lighting would convey the emotional tone of each song from cascading or pulsing pinks and blues, to the bloom of golds.

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Washington herself a jazz trained artist from the Queensland Conservatorium stood front of stage and showed what a luscious, and at times melancholic voice, she has. Certainly through The Give her jazz roots shone through giving the rendition a playful vibe much like the initial infatuation one feels when they first fall for someone. As all these songs were, as Washington commented, about love she delved deeper into the internal and external struggles of love leading to a middle portion that saw the singer at the piano delivering a more sombre take on relationships. This also included a perhaps too long, played out story (courtesy of Kate Miller-Hiedke) about a lovestruck Gorilla.

Her demeanour throughout the show was polite, thanking the orchestra a few times and acknowledging the crowd but one got the sense that Washington prefers to keep her cards very close to her chest, instead letting her music reveal her personality. American Spirit, written just after Donald Trump’s Presidential election win, was a different tongue-in-cheek take on Americana and our own state of disruption, that then lead to a pensive piano version of Roy Orbison’s You Got It. With solid backing by her guitarist Alex Bennison, Washington seemed very much at ease at the piano as the duo unveiled her new material and revisited older songs like Love Of A Soldier.

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Perhaps this was a case of not having enough time to explore the nuances of performing with WASO, she did mention that she was even catching a red eye that night, nevertheless when they performed together they did so gracefully with conductor Benjamin Northey nimbly guiding the orchestra through Begin Again, of which he arranged, and the grand Kiss me Like We’re Going To Die. With a nod to the current issue of equal rights and a reminder to get your votes in, Futureproof was another politically driven observation displaying Washington’s knack for traversing lines of social commentary whilst doing so with a spirited vocal.

The amalgamation of Washington’s lovely voice, her distinctive songwriting style and WASO was in a word lovely, moreover you could add it to a ‘perfect date night’ list. The talent and expertise of both made up for any shortcomings which were hardly noticeable anyways and now opens the musical box for the release of Sugardoom.

3 stars

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