Review: Ladyhawke at Freo.Social

Ladyhawke at Freo.Social
w/ Bec Sandridge, Have a Good Day
Saturday, July 27, 2024

Celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of her highly acclaimed breakout eponymous debut, Ladyhawke (‘Pip’ Brown) soared majestically at Freo.Social, delivering a set of wall-to-wall bangers on Saturday night. Despite the album’s tremendous success upon release in 2008, Brown appeared happy but also slightly bemused at how great its legacy has endured, opining her surprise at the near-capacity crowd that turned out to join her in a stroll down memory lane.

Support for the tour came from singer-songwriter Bec Sandridge. Sporting a fresh half-white, half-black bob, knee-high white socks, and a tank top that declared 'be simple', Sandridge's performance was anything but. Performing the set alone (collaborator and renowned producer Dave Jenkins Jr. was unfortunately unable to make the Perth leg of the tour), Sandridge's operatic vocals and guitar work more than filled the venue. While a live drummer would certainly have given the performance a certain extra oomph, Sandridge was compelling as she wove her way through a set that featured the stomping You're a Fucking Joke and the 70s AOR closer Cost of Love.

After a short interval and a series of triangular-coloured neon-light structures had been installed across the stage, the audience warmly welcomed Brown and her two bandmates on stage, who immediately launched into album opener Magic. Ending the song with added percussion via drum pads on the podium next to her, Brown was all smiles as she segued into the synth-driven groove of Manipulating Woman.

The Kim Wilde-esque glam-rock stomp of international hit My Delirium followed, bringing with it night’s first major singalong, while further down the setlist, the soaring choruses of Back of the Van equally demanded and received the full voice of the crowd.

Following on, the groove-heavy Paris Is Burning served only to further ignite the increasingly frenetic d-floor as punters’ hands and cares made their way in celebration towards the air. With limbs flailing and an increasing number of drinks being spilt, the epic Dusk Till Dawn and, in particular, the joyous club-banging chorus served to unlock a collective memory of Saturday nights well spent out and about to the joy of all in attendance.

Of all the tracks played on the night, Professional Suicide perhaps most uniquely demonstrated just how much Pip’s vocals have grown since the album was first released. As was the case on many of the other tracks, her live performance often bettered her delivery on the album itself, demonstrating her continued growth as an artist.

After reaching the album’s closer, Ladyhawke proceeded to show off some more recent works, such as the rocking Guilty Love from 2021’s Time Flies LP. Stopping to thank the crowd, Brown talked of close friend and early bandmate, PNAU’s Nick Littlemore, as a way of introducing set closer, Embrace, which she had guested on back in 2008. With the track’s soaring, insistent syncopated electro-synths and chorus urging the audience to “be my embrace now,” it was a most fitting end to such a heartfelt and endearing performance.

And with that, Ladyhawke’s job was complete. Having proved that her debut album remains a truly defiant and artistic statement, regardless of the ebb and flow of the musical landscape around it, it is an absolute joy that she continues to make music to dance to and smiles wherever she goes.

MICHAEL HOLLICK

Photos by Linda Dunjey