Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Banquet room, Adelaide Festival Theatre. 6 June 2014.
Kim Smith is an award-winning Australian cabaret performer and his latest show ‘Nova noir’ is a hit.
Dressed in a fitting tailored white shirt, drawn tightly over his broad shoulders, and high waisted butt-hugging trousers finished off with an exaggerated belt and braces, Smith is the very image of the Weimar era. His face is carefully made-up and his hair distinctly parted and slicked back with lightly glittered wax. He oozes androgynous sex appeal, he is narcissistic and you cannot bear to look away. He draws you in.
Smith knows how to tell a story, and he does it with the power of his voice, his steely gaze and his striking posturing. His song selection – ranging from Kurt Weill to Don Black to Sonny Bono – is carefully sequenced and bound together with a witty narrative that explores tolerance and the trials and joys of love.
Smith has a strong baritone/light-tenor voice that he pitches accurately and sustains pure tones with imperceptible tremolo. It is very easy to listen to, and he chooses songs carefully to suit his register. The sound engineers tamed the unforgiving acoustic of the Banquet Room so that Smith’s voice could reign supreme. He was accompanied by an excellent four-piece band masterfully led by Music Director/ Accordonist Benjamin Ickies.
Kim Smith is a consummate and witty performer, and Nova Noir is world class cabaret.
Kym Clayton
When: 6 to 7 June
Where: The Banquet Room
Bookings: bass.net.au
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