Brisbane Festival Review: Tkay Maidza goes for gold at The Spiegeltent

Trophies and vines covered the stage inside the Brisbane Festival’s Spiegeltent. Those trophies glinted from the venue’s stage lights, but they never shined as bright as Tkay Maidza. The South Australian artist has been on a roll since emerging in 2013 with her debut single “Brontosaurus”, and the energetic show she put on in support of her new single “Flexin’” showed why she has become an in-demand live performer.

A mass of strobe lights flashed in the background as drummer Tim Commandeur (PNAU, Operator Please) and DJ Annabel Hartlett laid down their beats. Bouncing around in front was Maidza, whose stamina was of superhuman levels. She leapt and spun across the stage all while rapping hard on tracks like “Carry On” and “M.O.B.”.

Amongst the sprinting and rapping, I didn’t notice Maidza ever catching her breath. The only time she was close to stopping was when her shoes came untied from her wild dancing, which Hartlett tied again (amongst all of the incredible things Maidza can do, her one admitted fault seems to be tying her laces).

The crowd was under Maidza’s complete control, responding to her every command. A constant refrain throughout the night was her asking how the crowd was doing and mock chiding them for not responding, “Bitch, I’m good!” Fans proved themselves when they shook the floorboards during the Martin Solveig-collaboration “Do It Right”. Her request for the stage to be lit up by the audiences’ phones were met during the soulful new track “White Rose”, a song so dreamy even Commandeur was singing along with his eyes closed as he played. “Guys, that was beautiful,” she told the crowd. “That touched my soul.”

Maidza left after closing track “Flexin’”, but fans weren’t finished yet. The Spiegeltent shook as they stomped their feet and demanded one more song. A shocked Maidza returned to their screams. “This was totally unplanned,” a sheepish Maidza says. “We don’t have any other songs. We can just play “Flexin’” again.” It’s a suggestion the crowd happily accepts with whoops.

Maidza made that repeat performance worthwhile, throwing even more energy into it. She hair and high-kicked the air as frenzied fans screamed the hook. With this performance, Tkay Maidza can add another trophy to her collection.

FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

For more dates and details head to Tkay Maidza‘s Facebook. For more about the festival head to brisbanefestival.com.au.

The reviewer attended the Tkay Maidza performance at The Spiegeltent for Brisbane Festival on Saturday, 15th September 2018.