Somebody to Love
Connections Nightclub
Friday, October 22 2021
Prolific local artist Tory Kendrick brings us her first solo cabaret, her first production, Somebody to Love. An ode to online dating as the five stages of grief. On the main stage at Connections even, but no lip sync, no karaoke tracks tonight, we have an actual live band. Starting out with a high point, literally, one of Queen’s more difficult songs, the actual title track. And, deep intake of breath…
Nailed it.
Tory’s voice both soars towards and holds the high notes, while simmering on the pieces more sultry. The original lyrics are hilarious, and the arrangements at certain points novel. This is a performer who knows how to match voice to song to exact detail. Her interactions between songs are as if knowing banter with best friends, be it towards her band members, or the actual audience.
The audience, an enthusiastic fan base from her many performances across Perth, are eating out of Tory’s hands from the first, hanging on her every word, singing along at volume, and even cheering every sip of water.
There’s an easy comedy to all this, that harkens back to the romcoms or musicals of classic era Hollywood. Tory is magnetic on stage, draws every eye, owns every portion of the space, looking the fiery femme fatale, yet acting the ingenue.
A solid, fun contribution from someone Perth will likely be hearing from for a long time to come.