December 6, 2020

Concert Review: VIKAE – Cassette 9 December 5, 2020

Veronica Bell, aka VIKAE, embraced her moment and performed like a star at the Cassette 9. Fully formed and seemingly out of nowhere.

A launch for brand new single Angry Girl. This is later in the set when she is in full flight. The scathing Girl Power song is given a boost of sensual energy. Techno-Pop sung with some classic Motown female lead drop-dead cool anger. I can taste you on my tongue.

Plays solo tonight with a keyboard and backing tracks. But dressed to kill. A revelation as a stage dancer. Powerful and a sexy shaman spell-weaver. VIKAE is very much about empowerment and overcoming obstacles and other people’s negativity, as she tells us at the beginning. This is an essential key to her art of songcraft.

Also key is her Producer Abigail Knudson who plays just prior tonight as Missy. Missed Isla, an interesting-looking Folkie who certainly we will come across again.

Missy is also a star who needs to be revealed. And probably will do in these Strange Days. Whilst she is Indie-Pop, there are a lot of elements to her craft. If Brian Eno and Kate Bush fucked and had a baby it would be Missy.

She tells me later she does have a classical background in voice and instruments. A choir singer and a classical celloist. Father a conductor. Became a producer because she got tired of being told what to do.

On stage with keyboards and gadgets including a soft one called Reg the Drum Machine.

Make Me Cry is minimalist synth. The next opens with Tubular Bells sound effects and the voice is pitch-perfect and stunning at times. On the high tenor especially, which gets cheers.

Strange is a great Pop song with deep beats accentuated. Storm starts with water effects and on stage tonight she gives it a more soulful Prince=like treatment.

New material is given a test run. A highlight is possibly called Soldiers For the New World Order. Bill Gates, the CDC and others are called out. The song creeps and shuffles and unsettles like Pere Ubu. Also sounds like classic Eighties New Wave. Warms my heart to see artists addressing this directly now. Van Morrison is the only other one I have heard with so far with Lockdown Blues. Missy is cleverer and more humorous.

Art is how you battle Propaganda.

Dance and good times are catered for, of course. Crazy is sensual Pop with the voice taking charge and exploding in full Kate Bush mode.

Altar sustains this and is a tough street-wise swagger and strut. Gets the crowd going and perfectly sets up Vikae.

Who starts with Truth. Tell me the truth/ That I’m the news/ Why do you run, run away from me? A powerful, controlled singing voice. She has a background in Classical and Opera and could have easily gone down this path. Jazz singing is also in her repertoire. She has been a Resident Singer with the Dunedin Jazz Orchestra.

All this goes into the mix and gives some idea as to how she achieves her signature sound.

There has been a difficult path to get here. This was originally the EP Launch show which was halted twice due to the actions of Control. Finelines is an excellent debut work and should be checked out. It’s all featured tonight.

I can understand the emotions and relief to finally get to play. It adds to the passion of the performance tonight.

Rumours. A great song and a highlight tonight. Fuck all these rumours/ I just wanna be your baby. And that’s what we get with a full-on temptress dance and a magnificent vocal.

A perfect small venue and the Sound crew deliver a beautiful balanced tone all night.

Well, Virus is a highlight too. This is a personal song and not about the Pandemic. But in a prescient and visionary way it is. On stage she invests this with a lot of sensuality. You can see yourself as a virus. But it’s the behaviour in your wake that is the problem. You find your salvation. The virus is neither good nor bad. Thinking only makes it so.

There a lot of catharsis exorcised on stage. It is also great Art. # fakefriends. A sassy strut with Techno Beats.

Finelines. Powerful Soul vocals and perfectly delivered.

Already a bright star. Ready to go Supernova. Viruses can deliver too.