Kate Ceberano’s Australian Made encore tour rolled into Toronto Hotel on Saturday night with a three-piece ensemble, a stack of Aussie classics, and a reminder of just how good we’ve got it when it comes to homegrown music.
The tour sold out rooms everywhere on its first lap around the country, and for good reason. Unlike similar retrospectives, this show and accompanying album play out like a real love letter to Australian music, artists who hit the road in 1986/87 on the original Australian Made concert series, and other musos who directly influenced Kate’s own musical journey.
Part of Toronto Hotel’s hugely successful Live on the Lake series, Saturday’s show began with local artists before tour support Kathleen Halloran delivered a blistering set showcasing her debut album, Nobody’s Baby.
Rousing, dynamic and utterly convincing, Halloran gave the crowd every reason to believe they were watching someone on the brink of becoming one of Australia’s great live performers. Her acoustic guitar playing alone was enough to stop you in your tracks. Add the songs, the voice and her magnetic presence, and this was a support set that deserved, and got, everyone’s full attention.
With Halloran and multi-instrumentalist Dusty Lee in tow, Ceberano launched the show with a classic FM radio double shot of Divinyls: Science Fiction and Boys in Town. Delivering a powerhouse vocal, standing behind the electric drum kit that’s become synonymous with the tour, it was obvious that everyone standing on stage was here to kick some arse.
Part of the show’s magic is hearing these Aussie classics reimagined without losing what made us love them in the first place. You get the sense every song means something to Ceberano, and that personal connection comes through in the performance.
James Reyne’s Slave was an early highlight, while an absolutely mesmerising interpretation of The Angels‘ No Secrets showed just how much this approach could uncover in a song you thought you knew inside out.
Cuts from Ceberano’s own catalogue sat comfortably alongside the Australian classics. Pash and Bedroom Eyes were warmly received, while a stunning reworking of the 1989 single, Brave, offered one of the night’s most compelling moments.
But the pick of her own songs may have been You’ve Always Got the Blues, with Halloran stepping into the role originally filled by Wendy Matthews. Having already made such a strong impression in her opening set, Halloran more than held her own alongside one of the country’s finest voices.
And Ceberano really is a singer’s singer.
She’s the kind of performer people who sing for a living look to as a reminder of what happens when talent is matched by a lifetime of taking the craft seriously. The notes land. The energy holds. She’s charismatic, accomplished and completely in command.
Kate is also a bit of a dag. A fan. One of us. And that combination is a huge part of the show’s appeal. You can admire the technique and still feel like you’re spending the evening with someone who gets just as excited about these songs as you do.
The Toronto crowd lapped the whole thing up like they hadn’t been to see live music in years. Towards the end of the main set, Ceberano told the audience it was one of her favourite shows she’d ever performed. Later, she turned up in the bar for a boogie. After spending the night celebrating Australian music from the stage, she clearly wasn’t quite ready to stop enjoying it.
For all its looking back, Australian Made leaves you curious about what Ceberano might do next. She seems reinvigorated, match fit and ready for another chapter. If this is the energy she takes into her next studio album, there’s plenty to be excited about.
