Katy Carr Live
Venue: The Royal Mineral Hospital, Bath
Date: October 27th 2012
Reviewer: Siri Francis

The unlikely but opulent setting – all stained glass windows and gilded columns – of Bath’s Royal Mineral Hospital seemed fitting for the heightened reality of songs from Paszport – an album uncovering the perilous adventures and tragedies of Polish men and women in WW2, but rendered through the vividity of Carr’s technicolor imagination.

A similarly unusual combination of ukelele, piano, double bass and trombone accompanied her voice, which soared up to the very curves of the cornicing, whether losing herself in the distinctive tones of 40s Polish song Dzis do Ciebie przyjsc nie moge or the breathless urgency of Kommander’s Car.

Interspersed through the songs were mini lessons in Polish pronunciation (How many gigs can leave you with the knowledge to pronounce Krzysztof Kieslowski’s name correctly?) and banter with filmmaker Hannah Lovell. Lovell, who made Kazik and the Kommander’s Car and Carr’s beautiful videos, projected the videos and archive film and illustrations throughout the concert, adding an apt extra layer of theatricality. A truly transporting evening.

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