Live Review: Little Simz @ Chevron Festival Gardens
It was a hot and sweaty night, but it could have been the dead of winter and the result would have been the same. Little Simz made sure that Perth turned it up for the last stop of her first ever Australian tour, and she could not have been more successful.
Her DJ got the crowd moving and shaking to Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" and Rae Sremmurd's "No Flex Zone"; undoubtedly crowd pleasers, but also indicative of the show to come: honest, humble lyrics delivered at a seamless rapid-fire pace to the backdrop of atmospheric R&B. Her music is melodic, jazzy soul, and borders on sweet, but her lyrics are anything but that. Focusing on themes of freedom, individuality, love, and heartbreak, her show was interspersed with little stories that she shared with the audience. She reminded everyone of her humble beginnings, how much music means to her, and how she doesn't want to end up a famous person disconnected from everyone else. She gushed about how amazing it felt to perform in Australia for the first time, and how special it was to share that moment in time with the audience.
She apologised for her voice - a little croaky from all the touring - but she made sure that everyone was having a good time, from those down by the stage, to others seated out at the back of the stands. If people noticed it, they soon forgot. For a relatively small person, she exuded a great amount of stage presence. An unexpected and special moment was when she picked up a guitar and slowed down the pace a bit, performing a rendition of "Fallen", off her latest album.
Little Simz kept the melody sweet, bass low, and lyrics forceful, solidifying her position as a force to be reckoned with, taking the title of King. Not Queen, because "women can be kings".
