In his third appearance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival acclaimed New York cabaret performer Kim Smith’s Nova Noir lures a willing audience into the dark, enigmatic world of Weimar cabaret, with an occasional electropop interlude.
Born in Taralgon, Victoria but married to an American and now a resident of New York City, Smith has received numerous nominations from the Manhattan Association of Cabaret Awards in the Outstanding Male Vocalist category. He regularly appears in renown New York City cabaret venues and is a member of a troupe of New York-based artists dedicated to preserving the European cabaret tradition.
Smith began the performance in the audience before mounting the stage and delivering a chillingly evocative performance of ‘Pirate Jenny’ from Brecht and Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, a fine start to what was an accomplished and considered production.
Smith’s clipped, stilted delivery of dialogue between songs aids in quickly establishing his stage-presence. His entertaining banter covered topics from long-distance relationships to the vagaries of politics, to racism and popular culture.
His beguiling medley of ‘Strange Frui’t (Abel Meeropol’s poem about the lynching of African-Americans in southern US states that Billie Holiday sang so memorably) with Peter Allen’s song about heading South, ‘Dixie’, was a highlight. Another highlight, befitting a show entitled Nova Noir, was Smith’s rendition of William Bolcom’s ‘Song of Black Max’.
The Weimar world influenced Smith’s take on popular songs including ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ (mostly associated with another Kim, Kim Wilde) and Sonny Bono and Cher’s ‘Bang Bang’.
Smith demonstrated his versatility by performing ‘Radio’ a song from his new electropop album Nova and joked that, while in development, the song potentially could have been about any electrical appliance.
Smith excels best when exploring into the world of Weimar cabaret and musical director, pianist and accordionist Benjamin Ickies provides excellent accompaniment in this adventure.
The performance ended the way it began, with Smith sauntering through the audience, chatting amiably and thanking all for their attendance.
While Smith delivered an excellent performance it must be said that the Banquet Room at the Adelaide Festival Centre is a barely adequate venue. It’s a large, drab, characterless space curtained off from the rest of the centre, half filled with cabaret style tables and seating. It is arguable that a performance of Smith’s quality deserved a better venue.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Kim Smith: Nova Noir
Musical Director/Piano/Accordion: Benjamin Ickies
Guitar: Brett Stafford
Bass: Alana Dawes
Drums: Enrico Morena
Banquet Room, Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Cabaret Festival
www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au
7 June
