Goooooood afternoon readers, and welcome to this week’s installment of the Marshall Street Studios Blog. It’s been a massive week, I’ve been back in the studio with the boys for artist coaching, doing photoshoots for an upcoming gig, I’ve been working (at my day job), and going to see some live music! Marshall Street also had their networking event last Friday, which was heaps of fun.
This week I saw Thelma Plum at The Corner Hotel, which I think was my first time being at The Corner since seeing Safia in 2015. It’s been too long. Thelma had just come off of Splendour in the Grass, and her set was incredible, so aside from my disgrace at Thema’s starting time of 11pm (it turned out to be 10:30, but let’s just admit I’m getting old), I was super excited for the show.
Photo credit: IG @bruce_a_baker
We got down to The Corner at around 9, and Miiesha was halfway through her act. This artist is a 20 year old Pitjantjatjara/Torres Strait Islander woman from central Queensland who is making waves in the music community right now. Even as we walked into the band room, we could see Miiesha commanding the stage. She seemed smart and switched on, her lyrics emanating truth from her life and experiences. At only 20 years old, I was impressed at how mature Miiesha’s rhymes were, and how she captivated the audience, educating us through her music. She was also funny, repeatedly reminding us how to spell “Miiesha” so we could find her on social media after the show. I was thankful for this, because you can bet I looked her up. I only regret missing the first half of her set!
Photo credit: IG @jessgleeson
Styling: IG @anthonycapon
Next up was Woodes, whose dreamy pop tunes you may have heard before with her releases ‘Rise’ and ‘Change My Mind’. Woodes burst onto stage with an abundance of energy, and didn’t let it slip through the whole set. Draped in red, this eye catching blonde-bombshell honestly just looked like she was having a really good time up there. Which meant that we were having a good time watching her! I wasn’t familiar with much of Woodes’ work before the show, but it didn’t matter, as her voice soared through her original tracks and caressed the high notes that populated most of her set. The girl’s upper register is damn good. My friend turned to me and said “how does she make singing like that look so easy?” Mood. Woodes was completely focused and involved throughout her whole performance, even picking up drumsticks to contribute musically as well as vocally to her band.
Photo credit: IG @aries_75
Eventually (at 10:30pm!) Thelma Plum arrived on a stage endowed with sunflowers, herself appearing happy and bubbly, ready to put on a show. I knew more of the tracks than I thought, but I was definitely hanging out for Better in Blak and Clumsy Love. Thelma’s live show is captivating, her voice singing about pain and adversity that she’s faced, all the while staying delicate and endearing. Starting off with Not Angry Anymore, the crowd was excited and ready to go. You always have to start the set with a bop- but not the most well known bop- to get people moving. She followed through with Don’t Let a Good Girl Down, which I whistled along to of course, and Woke Blokes, then slowed it down with Do You Ever Get So Sad You Can’t Breathe and her self proclaimed favourite song, The Captain by Kasey Chambers.
Thelma’s voice is bewitching, delivered with grace and admirable vocal control – a control that is sometimes hard to come by when artists sing mainly in the upper register. Thelma finished the set with Better in Blak, a tune that had every member in the audience screaming “Fuck That!” back at her with glee. But we knew this wasn’t the end. Apparently some people have never heard of an encore, though, because when Thelma left the stage, some actually started leaving. I was in shock. Sure enough, she came back with more of the same bouncy energy, for Father Said, Made For You and finally, Clumsy Love. This was the first song I’d ever heard from Thelma Plum, and I remember being hooked from the first listen. The show was an absolute delight and I wouldn’t hesitate to see Thelma again. I would love to see her in a festival setting next time!
After the show, we headed home and I was tucked up in bed by 12. I’m not an eighty year old just yet.
What live gigs did you guys go to this week? Feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email at alex@marshallstreetstudios.com – I’d love to hear from you!
Talk soon,
Al.