Concert review: Anika Moa and Julia Deans with the APO

Anika Moa and Julia Deans made the most of their orchestral collaboration.

There came a moment towards the end of Thursday night's concert when Julia Deans was thanking the audience for coming, and warmly added: "If there's anyone rich in the audience who would like to help us take this show on a world tour, that would be awesome."

She was sort of joking, but it was such an outstanding evening of music, it really would be fantastic to take it to the world (or at least round New Zealand more extensively).

It was a joyous blend of hilarity and heartfelt soul, with Deans and Anika Moa giving the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra a more relaxed atmosphere, and the orchestra bringing their songs a cinematic grandeur, and dramatic resonance.

Kudos must go to the various arrangers involved in the project for their skill in taking the songs on a new adventure without ever overpowering the original ideas, and to conductor Hamish McKeich for gracefully leading the collaboration. But the key to the evening's success was in Moa and Deans' vocals.

Regular APO-goers who were there for something a little different would've undoubtedly found the ladies as impressive and powerful as any of their more regular operatic guests, and those of us who were there as fans of Moa and Deans were equally struck by just how rich and nuanced their voices sounded in the Auckland Town Hall.

Deans was particularly notable doing a spine-tingling version of A New Dialogue, with the waltz-like arrangement working well with a beautiful cello solo and some swelling horn parts, and also in the spinning, eastern-flavoured Skin, which utilised some evocative clicking and hand rubbing. And her rendition of Fur Patrol's hit Lydia brought the house down.

Moa's rousing version of Running Through The Fire was full to the brim with emotion (it's about the death of her father), the orchestral arrangement drawing it into a glorious cacophony at the end, and her tender delivery of My Old Man was perfectly matched by the shimmering strings and some lovely work from the woodwind and percussion sections.

It was an equal pleasure to hear Deans playing several new tracks from her upcoming album - Walking In The Sun had some great glinting moments of Nina Simone, and We Light Fire shows off a more gentle contemplative side - as well as hearing works from Moa's recent release, Queen At The Table, which has more electronic-based production, being given an orchestral makeover, with the RnB-ish Running the standout for it's excellent use of tubular bells, and the trombones and tuba.

With a band made up of Jol Mulholland, Richie Pickard, and Stephen Thomas ably connecting the orchestra to the original songs, there were many moments of great groove and momentum, balanced by sections where the orchestra got to lead the way.

Of course the whole affair was given a lighter mood by the comedic talents of Moa and Deans, who bounced off each other with glee throughout, telling stories about their songs, doing impressions (including a great one where they did a vocal imitation of the strings tuning up), and making various jokes ("We're just here with a few of our friends tonight, they all individually auditioned to play with us of course, in my living room").

If there was one aspect to quibble over, it would be that the lighting could've been more appropriate. Using the same generic full stage lights as for a regular APO concert made the show less atmospheric and glamorous than it might've been, but that's a small criticism.

They finished things off with a vibrant cover of To Sir With Love by Lulu, which felt like a triumphant send off for a wonderful collaborative night of fine voices and stirring songs presented at their most resplendent.

Who: Anika Moa and Julia Deans with the APO
Where: Auckland Town Hall
When: Thursday June 25, 2015