Kate Miller-Heidke - Zero Gravity Tour

Performing at the Sydney Opera House won’t be the biggest concert of the year for Kate Miller-Heidke. That was - as you probably know - at the Eurovision Song Contest (which, according to organisers, was watched by 182 million people). Her new national tour takes the name of the song she sang for Australia, “Zero Gravity”. But that high-note of pop is just one of the many strings in Miller-Heidke’s metaphoric bow. This is one of the country’s most talented singers and composers at her best.

Pop is just one genre that Miller-Heidke masters with what appears to be minimal effort. She’s described as indy-pop, which is true but not many indy-pop singers have a voice like this - or such strong musical and operatic skills. She performs here with a band, led by her husband and longtime collaborator, Keir Nuttall. He shows she’s not the only talented one in the family - his guitar and electric-guitar work draw enormous cheers too.

There are only two other band members - pianist/ cellist Isaac Hayward and singer/pianist Jess Hitchcock - but they also have multiple musical talents that easily fill the Concert Hall stage. Their performances are astonishing, and alongside Miller-Heidke’s soaring voice, they create spine-tingling moments.

Many in the audience on the first night appeared to be long-term fans - one yells out “we (expletive) love you”, another apparently has lyrics from one of her songs as a tattoo. But even a stranger to Miller-Heidke would be thrilled by what she serves up. While not all the songs will be to everyone’s taste, the concert is always enthralling - and more often than not, electrifying.

There’s the song about a girl who goes missing at a music festival (“Sarah”), the one she wrote for International Women’s Day (“You’ve Underestimated Me Dude”) and the operatic and beautiful “O Vertigo”. She also sings one of her and Nuttall’s numbers from Muriel’s Wedding, The Musical (“Amazing”) and the incredibly touching “Rock This Baby to Sleep” in a duet with Hitchcock. An amazing range.

Miller-Heidke is also rather funny, telling various stories of how she’s not always well-received (“if I ever hear that again, I’m going to carve out my bowels,” she recalls one caller telling Brisbane radio after they played one of her songs). She and her husband have a cheeky stage presence, making them not just likeable but endearing. It all makes for a great night.

While Miller-Heidke put on a great show at Eurovision, it’s this concert that’s truly world class. She and her band are masterful musicians of a quality rarely seen or heard. It’ll be a wonderful tour across the country - get to it, if you can.

Peter Gotting

Photographer: Daniel Boud