21 February 2023

Openers

I read that Omar Musa performed support act for Kae Tempest in Perth but the support in Canberra was Sydney-sider Jannah Beth.  I hadn't heard of her, but I did view one YouTube video before the gig.  She appeared solo with a mic and picked up a guitar for a tune or two, otherwise with a recorded backing.  It was her first theatre gig and that was clear and made the event a bit special and personal.  We all smiled for a pic with her on stage and the audience behind for her Mum.  Nice.  She sang 6 tunes over a 30-minute set.  I'd expected rap or spoken word and there was some of that with that swinging-arm hip hop presence, but she also had a very decent voice for her presumably original songs of life, I guess from her recordings on Spotify, et al.  This scene does seem very personal, with songs about love and life and perhaps political thoughts.  I caught snippets to chase up later, maybe they are titles: Where the angels sing; Who am I to judge ... leave it to the God above; By your side; Wake me dead ... selling my soul (obviously a more angry outing about the entertainment industry); I hope everything doesn't have an expiry date.   And personal for the direct chatter with the audience.  And that loud PA with sub-bass, and audience singalongs and claps and waves and her hip hop dance movements and big loose white shirt and tightly cut (red?) hair.  I liked JB.  I'll listen more.  Impressive.  As you can guess, no pics allowed and I just didn't feel like being too stroppy about it.

Jannah Beth (vocals, guitar) performed as support for Kae Tempest at the Playhouse.

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