Sia Big Gob @ Avalon Theater, SLC, Feb 23

Don't you love it when you can't make a decision, then later after you've made your choice you realize you chose right and you are so glad? This happened Saturday when I went to see Sia instead of seeing Hey Willpower or staying in. Not only does she have one of the most amazing voices, but she is a riot.

Har Mar Superstar opened. By the end of his set he was in his underknickers, which I avoided photographing. I assume this is standard fare for him. I've heard a couple decent songs of his before, but I'm not really sure if he means to be any more than a novelty act. Don't get me wrong, he is a superb performer.

Then finally, Sia. First of all, she has a huge, grinny mouth. This photo doesn't quite do it justice.

Someone would complement her from the audience and her mouth would just open as big as her face, like she belongs in Beetlejuice. It might have been ugly if she didn't speak with an Australian accent. Then she'd get these goofy kiddish wiggles. Which fit in well with the childlike theme of her album cover design and production design. This is how they played the first number.

The stage was strewn with stuffed animals and what looked like giant glowing pipe-cleaner art.

There were even some kids in the audience who told Sia they had to shield their eyes during Har Mar and to whom Sia threw down some giant teddybears to stand on. During the encore, she actually brought out a tinfoil tray of lamb and chicken from catering and offered it to the audience, placing it on the edge of the stage. A minute later the front row was waving their kabobs around like lighters.

Sia's quite the storyteller too. She has this bit about going to therapy, getting happy, delivering an uptempo record to her label, being dropped by the label for not making a downtempo record, making a downtempo record anyway, then creating a superhero who can sing her pop songs. There's video of this from other shows on youtube, but it's not nearly the elaborate concoction she fed us. Point is, she played the unreleased song "Codependent" which I loved, and will be on a pop record she'll put out next year. If Island Records heard this and didn't think her fans would like it, they are mucho bonkers. This is a recording of the song from when she played it in Manchester.

mp3: Sia - The Codependent (live)

Now I know why I should never miss a chance to see Sia. For a fix, there's always this wack attack video she did for Buttons.