Cabaret Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. 12 Jun 2025

 

They came on stage to Sly & The Family Stone’s Everyday People, an homage to the recently departed Sly Stone.

 

From stage left it was the not-so-dirty three: Cameron Bruce on the Steinway grand, Vika at stage centre, then Linda.

 

I name them the not-so-dirty three because part way through the performance I was reminded of a night many years ago when I saw that astounding trio perform in the Big Star Basement – way back when there was a Big Star Records on Rundle Street. The way these three played with melody, worked their way around an old tune to give it a makeover and generally showed their incredible familiarity with each other’s style as they worked on the tonality of the music was just a wonder to watch.

 

Pianist Cameron Bruce was having fun tonight. He has worked with Vika and Linda long enough to know their voices and mannerisms. Beginning with a gospel tribute (I’m On My Way To Canaan) by Mahalia Jackson from Linda, Bruce coaxed out the call and refrain, the keys playing a fairground step and repeat with the melody. This they followed with the playful My Man’s Got a Cold. It became apparent that for a Cabaret Festival performance the three were not going to give the audience their standard set, and indeed, there was no House Of Love, When Will You Fall For Me or We’ve Started A Fire.

 

Things became clearer still with Tell The Angels, the title track from their 2004 album. They were taking it in turns showing off their voices to the audience, eschewing the compact harmonies which have characterised their music. Only occasionally did they step up together to their microphones; we were seeing a whole new dynamic to the pairing, and this one appeared to be led by Linda, the younger of the sisters. She worked her spell over Nina Simone’s Sinnerman, telling the audience how they had been instructed never to sing Aretha Franklin or Nina Simone songs for fear of coming off second best; they need not have worried. For my money the highpoint of the show, Raise Your Hand, a song written for them by Kasey Chambers. Stellar, a glorious tribute to a song given to them, and speaking lyrically, one of the loveliest songs I’ve heard.

 

It is a testament to the esteem in which these sisters are held that so many artists have happily written songs for them, handing them over with absolute trust. Names rolled casually off the tongue as they introduced various songs with stories of their involvement: Joe Camilleri, Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers, Mark Seymour, Michael Barker, and that’s without mentioning the myriad artists they have performed with. There were more songs: If I Start Today Again, Waiting On The Kid and Grandpa’s Song but as the show neared an implausibly swift end we were treated to a reworking of Never Let Me Go; it had been a signature song for them as members of the Black Sorrows. And after that to conclude with another tribute to Nina Simone, Feeling Good seemed very much like icing on the cake.

 

This was not the performance I had thought I was coming to see and hear, far from it. This was a different Vika & Linda, a duo who wished to show how different they could be. Peas in a pod they never were, but they were able to work around their differences and display so much individual flair because of the superb accompaniment provided by Cameron Bruce. The piano made the song structure solid, and as a result we were privy to a night to remember.

 

The three, Cameron, Vika, and Linda left the stage to the strains of God Only Knows, an homage to the recently passed Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson; a beautifully respectful bookending of two great artists.

 

Alex Wheaton

 

When: 12 to 13 Jun

Where: Dunstan Playhouse

Bookings: Closed