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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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MISSY HIGGINS
+ Dan Sultan + Mia Wray
@ Sidney Myer Music Bowl,
Melbourne,
6th December 2024
(Live Review)

Review by Alexandra Rees

Photos by Cam Brown (@cambrownvisuals)

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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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Missy Higgins took to the stage for her ‘The Second Act Tour 2024’ at Melbourne’s iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and it was an intimate night of introspective storytelling and a somewhat cathartic therapy session.

The audience was a sea of people from all walks of life, and it was clear the impact Higgins has made on a myriad of generations; her music holding a special place somewhere in each person’s journey.

Higgins finally released her fifth album 20 years to the day of her debut and describes The Second Act as “a kind of sequel” to The Sound of White. Both albums are deeply confessional and an embodiment of poignant periods in her life; the landscape of her adolescents and the complexities of womanhood and divorce.

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DAN SULTAN / Photo – Cam Brown

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MIA WRAY / Photo – Cam Brown

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From aching melancholy to glimmers of hope, The Second Act explores the messiness of being human. There was a raw honesty that permeated her show as she captivated her audience with reflective anecdotes of teenage anguish and mid-life heartache.

In the depths of (divorce) despair, Higgins wrote Craters. Drenched in dark humour, Higgins sings of the metaphoric “crater in the middle of [her] chest” that is now on show for the whole world. Higgins so seamlessly shifted from upbeat country-rock to emotional ballads, showcasing the versatility of her musicianship. There was a shared ache amongst the audience as she performed A Complicated Truth where she endeavours to answer the questions her daughter has about why her family no longer looks like the ones in the picture books.

She followed with another heart-wrenching piano ballad that resonated with many, The Broken Ones. Higgins spoke candidly about being drawn to people that are a little bit broken, maybe because we are all a little bit broken ourselves. It was in this moment that I met my longest and dearest friend’s gaze as we shared unspoken recollections of the countless times we too have tried to piece together someone else’s brokenness, probably because we saw a little piece of ourselves in them.

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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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After grappling with feelings of failure amid life’s flux, Higgins tells the audience, “I realised that we are all good people doing the best we can”. Her words echoed through the space and freed the audience from guilt and bestowed them with self-compassion and forgiveness.

Sometimes we don’t plan for an alternate ending to the narratives we write ourselves, Higgins laments, so when the pages of our stories “burn to the ground”, we are left with the embers of what we thought would be and it is up to us to immerse ourselves in the unknown and re-write the next chapter. Higgins’ The In-Between captures the human experience of painful transitions, though provides a sense of hope – despite the uncomfortable in-betweens, Higgins is “ready for the story to change”, she is “ready for the Second Act.” And with that, she comes full circle to The Sound of White.

Higgins defines her relationship to The Sound of White as a sort of “nostalgic attachment”, a feeling shared by her audience, and myself, from my teens to my thirties.

I was 11 years old when The Sound of White was released in 2004 and like many other Australian teenagers, her lyrics truly resonated with me, and still do today but perhaps in a different form.

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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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You could hear impassioned whispers amongst the crowd waiting for Higgins to perform the one song that had cemented itself in their hearts for decades. For me, it was The Special Two. And I knew from the very first chord of the melody… Decades later, the lyrics came effortlessly to me, as if each word was deeply engraved in my memory.

In 2005, I took to my own stage for my school’s idol (though perhaps not as grandiose as The Sidney Myer Music Bowl). I was just a 12-year-old girl who thought maybe she could sing, so I asked my Dad if he could accompany me with his guitar while I sang The Special Two. I remember vividly the standing ovation and placing in the competition. I couldn’t help but FaceTime my Dad for the entirety of Higgins’ performance of the song. He watched dewy-eyed and became teary, and something Higgins said about the songs she wrote as a teenager resonated with me, “maybe I sung them 20 years too soon.” At the time, what I didn’t realise as a young girl, was that I was singing the song for my Dad and I, now – for we will always be the special two and Higgins’ song will always be woven into the fabric of our bond.

Higgins’ then performed one of her most well-known songs, The Sound of White, written after the premature passing of her cousin. Higgins reminded us that we are not alone in feeling a void after losing someone and invited us to wave our phone lights in memory of them. The space became illuminated, and there was a tenderness in the air. It felt like the floating specs of light were our lost loved ones enveloping us in a warm blanket. Our sky became so full of stars to show us that there is always a light to guide us.

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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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She concluded the night with none other than the iconic Scar and the crowd erupted. She reminisced her younger self in the film clip, with her pixie cut, white shirt and crumbling piano and said, “good on her”. As my best friend and I danced down memory lane, we were surrounded by an abundance of joy as people belted out her lyrics, a testament to Higgins’ lasting legacy.

For decades, Higgins’ songs have adopted new narratives as her audiences connect their own story and attach new layers of meaning. I couldn’t help but connect this sentiment to Higgins’ life as she traverses through her new chapter; one of “new beginnings and explorations and new worlds” (Higgins).

Missy Higgins’ music feels like home and will always transcend time.

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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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Check out Cam Brown’s (@cambrownvisuals) full gallery of this event HERE

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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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Follow MISSY HIGGINS
missyhiggins.com
Facebook – Instagram
Twitter – TikTok
Spotify – YouTube – Apple Music

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MISSY HIGGINS / Photo – Cam Brown

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Press Release 14th September 2024 (below) HERE

MISSY HIGGINS
hits #1 with new album

Sells out
MYER MUSIC BOWL
& OPERA HOUSE FORECOURT
in her SECOND ACT

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AMNPLIFY – DB