Amber Martin.  Holy shit, where do you start?!  I first came across the exceptional talent of Amby via the John Cameron Mitchell touring performance of ‘The Origin on Love‘ in Melbourne’s Hamer Hall.  If you are unaware of JCM or Hedwig and the Angry Inch; firstly, shame on you, secondly, the fans of this work do not simply ‘enjoy’ the songs, story or philosophy.  We are obsessionists and every nuance of Hedwigs character is deeply embedded within us.   For a performer to stand out and above this world we came to immerse ourselves in requires extreme personality, strength and an unbelievable voice.  And she’s got it.  In spades.

We immediately fell in love and bought tickets to see her show “Amber Alert” at the Northcote Social Club – a collection of characters and skits she had developed over the years including a fantastically funny Reba McIntyre.  Her comedy is hilarious, physical and interactive – but then you hear that voice and the intensity of her amazing talent becomes truly next level.  She featured several songs from her debut album AM Gold with her collaborator Brett Every on guitar, a highlight being the incredible ‘Bright Lights, Long Shadows‘.

John Cameron Mitchell joined Amber for a duet of aTownes Van Zandt song  ‘If I Needed You‘ which was a beautiful and generous moment.

She has two tracks on JCM’s upcoming film soundtrack of “How to Talk To Girls At Parties“, ‘Bright Lights, Long Shadows’ and ‘Bermuda’.

 

You can watch two clips from Amber Alert in Melbourne here!

Bright Lights, Long Shadows

If I Needed You

 

Listen to her album A.M. Gold on Spotify, buy her on Bandcamp, and watch her channel Janis Joplin on the youtubes.

 

 

Words and images by Daniel Oh

 

 

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