15/08/2012 | Katie Herzig and Butterfly Boucher – The Borderline, London

As Butterfly Boucher casually walked onto the small stage in The Borderline, it was clear the evening was going to be full of real, unmanufactured live performances. Opening with The Weather, Boucher began to play solo with her band coming only in the form of recordings which she turned on and off with a foot pedal. Two songs in and Katie Herzig was nonchalantly introduced to the crowd before quickly disappearing when Boucher told her she needed her guitar. To fill the gap, Boucher  decided to bring her ‘band’ back to support her on a great performance of Gun For A Tongue.

With Herzig back on stage with the appropriate instruments, the two performed a haunting rendition of Not Fooling Around and an enthusiastic I Can’t Make Me followed which had the crowd offering some slightly confused audience participation. Throughout the set Herzig came and went starting a trend that would continue later with Boucher returning a few times in the second set of the night.

Announcing that the one-off London gig was doubling up as a Boucher family reunion, Boucher was quick to say how impressed she was at the fans who were also packing out the venue. Both artists reacted well to the audience all night, with Boucher choosing not to end her set after her lively performance of 5, 6, 7, 8! with co-writer Herzig, but instead continuing to play Another White Dash at the request of an audience member.

A quick interlude where Boucher was mobbed by fans wanting autographs and photos had to be cut short for the performances to continue with Herzig taking to the stage alone to begin her set. Her voice immediately seemed more vulnerable than Boucher’s powerful vocals, but the contrast worked well. After a slightly confused ending to her first song (the audience had to be reminded that the song was over), the set was a nice balance of tracks from Herzig’s latest album and some older tracks. It was the new tracks that seemed the most well-received with both Free My Mind and The Way To The Future being personal highlights.

Yet again, crowd favourites were taken note of as Herzig made sure she’d included the two twitter requests she’d been sent. In the middle of the set, Boucher appeared on stage to join Herzig for a few songs as well as returning to close the show with a duet of Lost and Found.

Considering how cheap the tickets were, there was undeniably a lot of great talent on display throughout both sets. With both artists appearing throughout the evening, at times it seemed like they weren’t two separate artists, but had merged to become one duo. Separate or together, the Australian and the American both had London loving them last night. If this multinational affair ever occurs again, be sure to grab a ticket.

www.butterflyboucher.com / www.katieherzig.com