Fly My Pretties ‘A Story’ Encore, Michael Fowler Centre Wellington 5/12/09

If there was ever a show to go to, Fly My Pretties “A Story” is the one for me.

It started off a bit slowly, the show was running late so despite being promoted as doors opening at 7.30pm, this didn’t actually happen until 8.12pm. The show itself started at 8.35pm – having made up some ground there as it was supposed to start at 8pm.

However, as soon as Dick Weir began to speak, all petty annoyances and quibbles about this faded away as his voice led us on the path of a magical journey. The story carried powerful themes about protecting the natural world around us, and how easy it is for the careless and the thoughtless to have devastating impact on the planet we all share.

The music wove around the story, each song carrying the theme of that particular segment. Highlights for me had to be Anna Coddington, her song Beat Repeat was toe tapping and one to remember. I also enjoyed Tessa Rain’s Mauri, and of course the classic Heavy Weather by Barnaby Weir, this song had a real Black Seeds vibe about it.
But by far the stand out song of the performance had to be Angels. The haunting beauty of all the performers voices in a cappella sent a shiver down my spine, and noticeably brought a tear to the eye of some of the listeners.

The second set of the performance, a set of both old and new Fly My Pretties material, although pleasing to many of the crowd I felt would have been better suited to the first half as it just did not hold my interest after the beauty of the story. I am however, a confirmed Kora fan thanks to the appearance of Laughton Kora. The song he led, Freak Of Nature, was easily the stand out of the second set, and his stage presence was such that every time he was on the stage, it was very hard to notice anyone else.

I would highly recommend if buying this, to buy the recorded DVD performance rather than the CD itself. The entire experience, from set to costumes to performance, to the stellar narration, is a journey worth repeating.