Ella Thompson // Ripple on The Wing Album Tour – The Night Cat Review

Living in Melbourne throughout Summer means bracing for an inevitable heatwave that can for some, disrupt your usual routine. While hiding away from the extreme temperatures can provide moments of reprieve from the outside world, it also can create a yearning for venturing out and enjoying the many experiences the city has to offer. During the first week of February this yearning took form of a show at The Night Cat. Ella Thompsons Melbourne leg of her tour celebrating the release of the 2024 Album Ripple on The Wing. Looking outside, through the blinding rays of light knowing that by the weekend the temperature will drop and that there is a night of incredible Soul Music ahead.

While the heat of the Ultraviolet Rays took a reprieve on the 8th of February, The Night Cat was still running hot, as a packed house witnessed an amazing night of music from two of Melbourne’s heaviest hitters in the Soul Scene. The Pro-Teens kicked things off, proving to be a perfect appetizer for the evening. This Super Group of sorts played through their newest release MF TEEN: Your Concurrence In The Above Is Assumed, an impeccable album made up of instrumental versions of MF Doom tracks, hits, and deep cuts alike. Couchdog were lucky enough to be in attendance of their live debut of this album a few months prior.

The Pro – Teens gave a performance indicative of their name (The Professional Teenagers). An incredibly tight set that only musicians of their caliber can put on mixed with a general sense of fun and glee. Showcasing their takes on MF Doom instrumentals, their set spanned from DOOM’s early KMD days (Shoutout Peachfuzz) all the way to an excellent rendition of the Madlib produced One Beer. The latter of which was particularly amazing as the sample of One Beer is the ever-incredible track Huit Octobre 1981 by Cortex.

A set like The Pro-Teens is such a fascinating look at the way sounds can evolve dependent on context. An original 70’s French Funk track can be chopped up and warped to create an iconic turn of the century hip hop track and in turn, played by a soul outfit out of Melbourne for yet another interpolation of the same formation and melodies. It is very rewarding as a music fan to see the evolution of a song through generations and continents.

Packed house at The Night Cat for the Wonderful Ella Thompson! Photo by Nick_Mckk

Previously, Couchdog have only witnessed the great Ella Thompson in supporting slots. While each set was performed at such a high quality, we have always wanted more. A longer set, a bigger crowd and a room full of people attending to specifically see her. The anticipation of finally seeing Ella and her band was met with a set that exceeded even our wildest expectations. The red mood lighting of The Night Cat was a perfect fit for the over hour long set of warm and blissful soul. Predominantly playing tracks from her newest LP Ripple on The Wing, the live performance was a tour de force, hypnotizing the whole room with Ella’s powerful vocals.

Take a gander at this great video for a taste of the Live Ella Thompson Experience!

This was a headline set in every sense of the word, a commanding display that had the production you’d want to match with such a polished soul sound.