Kiikii te whare. He tangata tiaho rawa a Lisa ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Ka noho au i te taha o teetahi kuia mai ite Awakairangi, ko taana tamaahine i haere raaua tahi ko Lisa ki te kura ki reira. Ka noho te tamaahine me oona hoa i te rarangi tuatahi i eetahi tuuru i tonoa ai e raatau i te whakatuuwheratanga o te tono tuuru. He hui teenei o nga mea tautoko i a Lisa, aa, ka koa kee au kia uru ai ki roto o teenei. He minenga pai moo Downstage, he rerekee pea i nga mea mai i a Eastbourne, Khandallah ranei. 

It was packed. Lisa is popular in Wellington. I sat next to a lady from Upper Hutt whose daughter had gone to school there with Lisa. The daughter was with her mates in the front row in seats that they had ordered when bookings opened. It was a reunion of Lisa fans and I was pleased to be part of it. A good audience for Downstage, a change perhaps from the lot from Eastbourne or Khandallah. 

Ka tiimata te whakaaturanga i te whitu karaka i te ahiahi o te Raatapu, aa, ka whakatepe i te haurua i te iwa, aa, ko te aahua, ka koa te minenga moo teenaa. 

It started at seven on a Sunday night and finished before nine-thirty and the audience seemed happy about that. 

Ko Christopher Yeabsley te tangata i te piano hau haunga ano i a Lisa naana ra teenei mahi i teetahi waa. Ko Lisa, ka waiata ia, aa, i eetahi waa ka rakuraku ukulele ia. Ko Daniel Leabsley, ka purei ia i te rakuraku ki raro me ngaa mea pena i te hakaphona. He tino pai a Paul Hoskin i ngaa pahopaho. 

Christopher Yeabsley was on the organ except when Lisa herself played at one stage. Lisa was mostly on vocal but sometimes on ukulele. Daniel Yeabsley was on bass and wind instruments. Paul Hoskin was pretty darned good on drums. 

He rawe hoki oo Lisa kaakahu. Ka haamama atu ia ki toona hoa kuini, te mea e whakamoohio ana i a ia moo ngaa kaakahu pai, moo taana whiriwhiri i te kaakahu hiiraka whero me nga ringa nunui rawa. Ko te mahi whakamau kaakahu me te purei ukulele me ngaa mahi tinihanga kiihai i taea ai, he wahanga eenei o te ira katakata o te poo. Ko teetahi anoo mea ko te koorerorero pooturi na Raniera. He pootae koi, he tiakete nihokuri ((me kii?) oo Raniera, aa, wheena pea ia i a Sherlock Holmes. 

Lisa was dressed for the gig. She shouted out to her drag queen dresser-fashion guide for choosing a pink silk dress with enormous sleeves and the dress-up business along with her ukelele playing and magic tricks that did not work were part of the comic thread of the night the rest coming from a kind of dumbed down jive talk from Daniel. Daniel wore a cheesecutter and looked a little like Sherlock Holmes. 

Ka taatai teenei whakaaturanga ki a Billy T James me Lou raaua ko Haimona.He katakata, he waiata hoki, he waiata, he katakata hoki. Te hooro waiata o Ngai (me kii?) Kiwi. Ko te hingareti pango, ngaa tarau poto me te tauera hoki o Billy T, he wheenaa eeraa pea i te kaakahu ringa nui me te ukulele o Lisa, te pootae koi me te tiakete nihokuri o Raniera. 

The gig was in the tradition of Billy T James and Lou and Simon. Comedy and song, song and comedy. Kiwi music hall. Billy T’s singlet and towel were like Lisa’s big-sleeved dress and ukulele or Daniel’s cheesecutter and houndstooth jacket. 

Ka pai te whakakoikoi i te minenga. Ka moohio a Raniera me Lisa ko wai nga mea i haramai ai, aa, he rahi te waa katakata. Ko Raniera, ka whakatakoto ia i nga katakata haangai raa ki ngaa karapu o te huarahi o Cuba, ko Lisa, ka hoki ia ki te haikura me ngaa mea mai i te whaarua. 

They worked the audience well. Daniel and Lisa knew who was there and spent a fair bit of time being funny, Daniel making bebop jokes for those from the Cuba Street clubs and Lisa being back at high school with the folks from the valley. 

Ka rerere noa te wahanga tuatahi, he orite te katakata ki te waiata. Naa toona aahua aatahua me toona pai ki te katakata ka koorero a Lisa i eetahi mea rerekee peenaa i te whakaaro he ngaawari rawa atu ia moo te whiriwhiri waiata. He tangata pai hoki a Raniera, aa, ka taea e ia te hari o ngaa taangata mai i Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. Engari raa, he mea pai te putahanga mai o te waiata i eetahi waa. 

The first half drifted along with as much comedy as music. Lisa is so infectious and attractive onstage that she can say a lot of things, at one stage seeming to describe herself as a musical slut. Daniel is pretty cool really and he can get away with the dumb bebop thing, especially with the Wellington crowd. But there were one or two hints of music. 

Araa, ka tuumeke kee te wahanga tuarua. Te pai hoki o teenaa. He rawe raa a Chistopher Yeabsley. Ka puta mai ngaa rarangi i raro o nga rangi mai i te piano hau, a, ka noho tonu taa Christopher i tooku hinengaro. Ka whai waahi ia mema, ia mema o te roopu i te waiata Sunny engari i te whakaaturanga e haerere ana ka tautoko ngaa mema o Twinset i a Lisa Tomlins. Ka whakautu a Paul Hoskins i ngaa paatai moo te kaipahopaho. Ka kaati a Raniera i te mahi katakata, aa, ka timata ia ki te mahi waiata. 

And then the second half smoked. It was so good. Christopher Yeabsley was a revelation. The bass in the act mainly came from runs on the keys and I could not get what he was doing out of my head. They did a version of Sunny where everyone seemed to find room to move and express themselves but as the second half progressed and things got serious it was Twinset showcasing Lisa Tomlins. Paul Hoskin did all that was required of a drummer in an evening of jazz and more. Daniel called time on being a jazz comic and started to play.

Aa, ka whakaatu a Lisa i a maatou ki reira toona anoo raa hohonu. He reo waiata e hikoikoi ana i te ao jazz, he mea tinihanga, whakahaurangi hoki i te tangata whakarongo. Ka tatari koe i a ia ki te karawhiu i teetahi anoo pare waiata, teetahi anoo whakarerekeehanga, aa, kia whakaaro ai koe kua mutu ia ka hoatu ia i teetahi mea paku atu. 

And Lisa showed us what she is capable of, a voice going into jazz in clever and sometimes intoxicating ways, you keep waiting for her to throw another frill, another variation into things and just when you think that that is all there is to give she shares a bit more. 

Tino pai Downstage! He whare kiikiii, he minenga koa, he waiata pai hoki. 

Way to go Downstage! A full house, a happy audience and a serving of fine music. 
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