Review by Damian Woodards
Last Saturday night a small but very appreciative crowd gathered to see Mi Sex the 2019 version, 40 years after having a number one hit in Australia with Computer Games.
Unfortunately the only remaining original member is keyboard player Murray Burns. Since the band reformed in 2011, Steve Balbi has been fronting the band, the former Noiseworks bass player dressed Bohemian style, looking similar to Johnny Depp, complete with makeup and hat is a brilliant frontman for the band. He brings an element of Cabaret, grand showmanship accompanied with anecdotes and choreographed microphone stand movements that kept myself and much of the crowd engaged from start to finish.
Steve Balbi kept the audience on their toes playing spin the microphone stand, resulting in him passionately kissing both guys and girls, glad I wasn’t standing in the front row!
Mi Sex opened with Graffiti Crimes leading on to But You Don’t Care and Falling In and Out With You. Hearing later in the set Space Race, I was very impressed how they were able to recreate this song, with a five piece line up, the new wave sound obviously wasn’t too layered with electronic twitchering.
The sorrowful and honest Blue Day about depression, which features on my favourite Mi Sex album Where Do They Go? allowed Steve Balbi to share with the audience that the other former member of the band Don Martin, bass guitarist, was too ill to do this tour, so I wish him all the best in recovery, in order to be able to play again sometime soon.
Bands save their best to last, Mi Sex selected as their killer songs, Computer Games, Castaway and for the encore People. In all a great sound, and a great show.
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