There aren’t many performers quite like iOTA. Singer, songwriter, actor and the bloke who played the flame-throwing Doof Warrior in Mad Max: Fury Road, he’s done just about everything. Tonight, he’s at Sydney’s Vanguard with an acoustic guitar, a new album and plenty to say.
Outside, a rainstorm is giving Sydney a proper soaking, but inside the Vanguard, the crowd is loving every minute. iOTA is back with Hours Disappear, his first album in a decade, stripping things back to just his voice, his guitar and a collection of songs that speak for themselves.
First up is Australian-Finnish singer-songwriter Inga Liljeström, who brings something completely different to the evening. Dressed in a striking red dress and accompanying herself on guitar, she delivers a captivating performance that gets the evening off to a great start.
Then iOTA takes the stage, and it doesn’t take long to realise we’re in for more than just a bloke sitting on a stool playing guitar.
He’s in a chatty mood, red devil horns on his head, he thanks the audience for clapping at practically everything he says, admitting he’s feeling much better tonight and revealing that he’s drinking English breakfast tea.
Without a band behind him, there’s nowhere to hide, but iOTA doesn’t need one. His voice and guitar are more than enough. But as funny as he is, it’s that voice that really grabs you.
One minute he’s singing so softly you could hear a pin drop, the next he’s letting rip with a vocal range that seems to have no limits. His new album, Hours Disappear, mixes acoustic versions of old favourites including Home Song, Bitter Wine and Come Back For Me with new songs such as Silver Train and Same Three Words. He also dips back into The Hipbone Connection, the album that first put him on the map in the late ’90s. It’s a reminder of just how long he’s been doing this, and how good those songs still sound.
Of course, music is only part of the iOTA story. He’s won awards for his performance in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, played Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show and turned up in Mad Max: Fury Road as one of the film’s most memorable characters. He’s never been one to do things by halves.
Back at the Vanguard, he announces that part one of the show is over and welcomes everyone to part two. First, though, he wants to make sure everybody has a drink.
It’s that sort of night. There are plenty of laughs, some terrific songs and a crowd that’s clearly delighted to have him back.
After ten years without a new album, iOTA is back doing what he does best. No big production, no fuss, just a guitar, a cracking voice and a bloke who knows how to entertain a room.
Go HERE for tickets to the rest of the album launch tour.
Images Deb Pelser
