Mimsy Cable – Wine Cellar (Concert Review)

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An early Sunday show often has a different mood about it, especially for a more intimate seated gig at the Wine Cellar. Tonight is also special as it’s Mimsy Cable’s first show in four years.  She’d been working up to releasing her debut EP, The Coral Reef, for that long, so it felt like an important milestone.

Auckland trio Herriot Row got us warmed up with a charming set and some amusing stage banter, then it was time for the main event. A full room and an attentive audience cheered as the musicians walked on stage.

Cable and her four piece band opened with Voice From The Well. The soft keyboard tones spilled out quietly, easing us in as the song built up to louder vocals and drum flourishes. Her voice rose to higher notes towards the end, providing a more dramatic close to the song.

The second song Family Tree, featured a pretty and haunting piano line that shone out like a hidden gem. It could well be my favourite from their set.

These first two songs were both from the new EP. Cable told us some of these songs were very old to her, as she wrote them in her early 20s, at a different stage in her life. She added that they would also be playing newer songs tonight, “so maybe you’ll hear a change,… or not and that’s ok.”

Horn players Finn Scholes and Siobhanne Thompson joined them for the next song. Finn, (from local band Carnivorous Plant Society) played a bold and colourful trumpet solo, while Siobhanne added her baby trumpet to the mix.

Cable dedicates the next song to a friend in the audience who’s come up from Wellington. I didn’t see the set list but I think it was called When Will You Give Me Your Heart. Like many of the songs tonight, it’s a slow burner that builds steadily, growing to brighter bolder flourishes mostly lead by Cable on keyboard and Alex Freer on drums, with a polished solo by guitarist Tom Healy.

The next two songs are performed solo by Cable, the first on acoustic guitar. She tells us this next one’s a very new song, finished only two weeks ago, “in fact, I’m not even sure it’s finished.” She adds that she’s not a guitarist, and can only play what her friend calls “cowboy chords”. Inspired by a trip to Tonga, it’s is a simple song, with a slight sadness to it. Her pretty, drifting vocal melody floats along, making us wonder what events may have inspired her lyrics.

The next new song comes from a misheard lyric from local band Great North. She says she really liked a certain line when she first heard it and wanted to steal it for herself.  The song is accompanied by her keyboard which she switches to a smooth regal organ sound. Afterwards she comments “I realise that’s still a bit of a sketch, hopefully we’ll take it into the studio and [take it further], in a new direction.”

The band comes back on, following up with a cover by Arthur Russell, a lesser known song called I Wouldn’t Say It To Your Face.  Then they play another original, a more dreamy, drifting tune where you can let your mind wander and enjoy – til Alex Freer’s drumming keeps bringing you back. So crisp, accomplished and on point. Cable even gives a little smile at a “really good drum fill”, which she acknowledges afterwards.

There’s a pause for her lengthy thank you speech, anxious to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anyone. “I didn’t make notes, cos I’ve been so stressed out…” she says, but does well to eventually thank everyone who’s helped her get this far, including her band – three of which have been with her since 2009, and Tom Healy who co-produced and mixed the EP.

“I do things really slowly unfortunately,” she says, “I move at a glacial place.”

She gives special thanks to producer David Parker who’s in the audience, “without him I don’t think I would have even started.”  During the speech, Hollie Fulbrook (Tiny Ruins) has snuck up onstage, guitar at the ready for the last song. Drummer Alex Freer and bassist Cass Basil are also her rhythm section so it’s almost no surprise to see her joining in.

They end with the title track The Coral Reef. We sit back as the song takes flight and blossoms into beautiful expansive crescendos – the perfect way to close the evening.

Tonight’s show was a heartfelt and pleasant performance. As someone who knew less about her music, and hadn’t heard the full EP yet, the songs didn’t grab me straight away, they’re more slow burners that could grow on you with further listens. Cable’s vocals are mostly in the lower register that sometimes comes up to soar above the band. Her songs have a smooth ebb and flow to them that lead you to a tranquil state of mind. The band gelled well and added a lushness and richness to her arrangements, which seemed to make Cable more comfortable on stage – sometimes singing with her eyes closed, she looked truly ‘in the zone’. Her nerves rarely showed, apart from when she told the audience between songs.

If you like indie pop of the calming, dreamy, soulful variety, check them out at their next show, which hopefully won’t be too far away.

– Dedee W

 

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