:: Missy Higgins - Metro Theatre, Sydney - October 04

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

I am glad that I came to Sydney a couple of days early for the ARIA Awards so that I could see Missy Higgins perform to a sell-out crowd at the Metro. Missy has enjoyed a fantastic year and it soon became evident that she gained great assuredness and even more personality in her performance.

In what proved to be an extraordinary week in her life, the fresh-faced Melbourne singer-songwriter struck a strong chord with her Sydney fans at this show. Her jazz-trained, yet charismatic, voice and her natural charm won over the crowd in a terrific performance.

It was the first time I'd seen her perform with a band and it proved to be a real polished show. Missy still retains that edgy touch that has seen her appeal cross particular musical borders in Australia. She thrived on stage, showing a growing confidence as the show proceeded. She played piano and acoustic guitar and the interesting arrangements kept the ballads from being too sentimental. The band helped bring out extra dynamics to her songs and was a welcome addition in gelling everything together.

There were two encores. The fans just wouldn't let missy leave the stage. They deeply admired what they'd seen. Missy had played a good mix of her current album, plus EPs and B-sides and was genuinely excited by the crowd reaction. It was a pleasure to be there.