AVANT GUARDED - MELBOURNE
AVANT GUARDED Butterfly Club, 14-19 February 2017.
Chanteuse and pianist Charlotte Kerr has an easy style about her: self-deprecating dry humour coupled with great musicianship. She sings, plays piano, the ukulele and writes. Kerr opens the show with a song called I Regret Everything, accompanied by Tim Solly on piano and, you can’t help but smile and get excited about the next hour.
Kerr talks to the audience about her life – literally from the time she was born; she is a millennial – this patter about her life, loves, breakups and heartache is dotted throughout the hour-long show interspersed with her melodic singing and two other performers to break it up. Some of which works and some doesn’t. A census skit although funny was difficult to hear – Hannah Lang’s voice was very light – and call me a stickler but I prefer “off’” to “off of”.
The duck song was hysterical with beautiful gentle harmonies. Tamara Issa does a great number as a clown made out of processed meat; she has a strong voice, good comedic timing and is a skilful foil for Kerr.
Kerr brings you in with her singing, her voice reminiscent of Judy Collins especially, funnily enough, in her rendition of Both Sides Now.
This is a cabaret full of dry musings and dreamy vocals and the amusing annoying heckler who wants to hear Shannon Noll.
