Ok, firstly, let’s disperse with the obvious – Lanie Lane smacks with sex appeal. The crowd knows it. She knows it. This scribe knows it. Decked out in a wide rimmed cowboy hat and vintage mid-thigh skirt, she would not look out of place cooing alongside the spirited country songstresses of the 1950s.
A cynic may say it’s part of a calculated push to differentiate her from the surplus of Australian female vocalists (Clare Bowditch, Holly Throsby, Sarah Blasko – the list goes on). The more astute observer would put it down to her natural, whimsical appeal. Whatever the case, the approach is working; Lanie sold out both her shows at the Northcote Social Club with little effort. Truth be told, she probably could’ve sold out another two or three.
Preceding Lane’s set is the spaced-out surf vibes of The Fearless Vampire Killers (preceding them was the impressive Miss Little). It’s been a hectic few years for The Fearless Vampire Killers, having released a steady stream of material as well as supported the likes of The Hives and Kasabian. A dividend of this work ethic is their live repertoire and tonight is no different. Renditions of “Loaded Gun”, “All Right Now Honey” and “For You And Me” growl with authority. It’s no less than a pounding set from a band who deserves their break sooner rather than later.
A rolling 1950s blues standard teases the crowd before the curtains roll back to reveal a grinning Lanie Lane. Holding an oversized Les Paul and flanked by an upright bass, she strums into “To The Horses”, the title song off her debut LP. “The Devil’s Sake” follows soon after, before “Betty Baby” and the effortlessly sultry “Like Me Meaner” seduces and swoons like a cheating mistress.
By her own admission, Lanie is a bit of a mumbler between songs, and at times her efforts to converse with the crowd are greeted with silence. Still, being the opening show of her first headline tour, such kinks are to be expected. For the most part she is affable and more than happy to go “to and fro” with her ticket-holding punters.
After a solo “What Trouble Is” and the Jack White-produced “My Man”, Lane pulls Fearless Vampire Killers lead vocalist Sean Ainsworth from the crowd to perform a pair of songs they wrote about each other. “Don’t Cry” and “Stranger Girl” tell alternate perspectives of how Ainsworth consoled a weepy Lane during a drunken night at The Espy (geez, haven’t we all been there). A modern day June Carter and Johnny Cash? Perhaps not, but their interweaving tracks entertain nonetheless.
To round out the set, Lane concludes with three tracks any artist would be happy to have penned: “What Do I Do”, “(Oh Well) That’s What You Get For Falling In Love With A Cowboy” and foot-tapping single “Ain’t Hungry’. She proves equally as impressive during the encore with a sassy rendition of The Boss’ “I’m On Fire”, a song she previously crooned with Clare Bowditch.
Oozing with the vivacity of a woman in her mid-twenties, yet delivering with the maturity of a veteran twice her age, Lanie Lane is a rare package. There may be more polished performers arising out of 2011, but none will be as prodigious.
– Paul Bonadio
