Carly Binding at Masonic, Devonport

By EMILY WATT

Known as the Ginger Spice of TV-manufactured pop star band TrueBliss, Carly Binding has a reputation for being feisty. And it was clear when she took to the stage at the Masonic on Friday night that this girl still has plenty of fire in her belly.

Thankfully, feistiness is probably a necessity when you're going solo.

While she is quick to dismiss her experience with the group, Binding is certainly a polished performer as a result of it, relaxing instantly on stage and, with a practised flick of her hair, launching straight into a set of the catchy pop songs that contributed to her album Passenger going gold.

While she's not pushing any boundaries, they are exuberant tunes and the audience was more than happy to be taken along for the ride.

It is Binding's powerful, operatic-trained vocals that make her folksy pop stand out, and as she rollicked through the familiar favourites, We Kissed, For What It's Worth, This Is It, and All Right With Me, there was no denying, the girl has a great voice.

The more intimate My Liberty was offered as an explanation of why she left TrueBliss, and the lyrics - "I don't believe that it's true what they say, that I should behave in the usual way. If there's one thing I'll keep it's my liberty" - were perhaps the most revealing of this young pop-star's determination to go it alone.

There were a couple of distractions in between sets: white noise from the gig upstairs thrashed through the floor, (big thumbs-down to the Masonic) and, in true Kiwi style, the rugby was still screening in the corner. It was testament to Binding that no one was watching.

The support act, Ladi 6, was one of those unexpected surprises that make live gigs so worthwhile. She performed her songs alone but for her guitar and a baby to be (she is expecting in March) and was enchanting. I'm picking we'll hear a lot more of her tender ballads and rich, chocolate voice in the future.


* Carly Binding was supported by Ladi 6