For those who are unfamiliar with Aussie singer-songwriter Sia and her music, she’s the type of artist that dig deeps and delivers emotional, soul-searching, introspective lyrics over subdued electronic beats and melodies. Listening to her music, you’d think that during a live show she’d be the Fiona Apple-type of performer that is so self-absorbed and emotionally fragile, she could possibly break down on stage. That is so not the case and quite the opposite.
Sia, along with opening act Body Language, stopped into Denver’s Gothic Theater on Thursday April 22, 2010 to deliver a fun, entertaining and lively 90-minute show. Backed by her 4-piece band, Sia went through favorites from her two well-known albums, Colour the Small One and Some People Have Real Problems along with selections from her forthcoming album, We Are Born, due out June 7. Despite the seriousness and abstractness of songs like “We’ll Soon Be Found,” “Little Black Sandals,” and her mega-hit “Breathe Me,” Sia kept it lighthearted between songs.
Photography by Letitia Salazar
Sia is funny and adorably cute and took the stage wearing a lit horn on her head, smiling and waving at everyone in the audience as she performed “The Fight,” from the new album. After every song she mingled with the audience, answering questions, signing CDs, telling stories about her last time in Colorado and receiving gifts from the crowd. Some of the gifts included a lit visor and a “monster hood”, which she promptly put on and performed a song in and a bubble gun, which spouted bubbles into the crowd. She one-upped that gift by coming out back out on stage for an encore wearing bubble wings that spun out bubbles into the crowd. Sia charmed the crowd, who were so enamored with how personable she was, that there were no complaints about the in-between song antics.
And when the time came for her to sing, she crooned so effortlessly. The band hardly deviated from sounding exactly like the recorded versions of the songs, and it would have been nice to get some solos in to show off the musicianship of Sia’s crew. Regardless, for Sia fans, you couldn’t have had a more perfect show unless she performed her entire catalog. Don’t miss her when she makes her back.
