Sia @ Cabaret Voltaire

With the stage lit by a solitary black light, Sia and her band arrive dressed in black but covered head to toe in neon reflective strips cut roughly to match the dimensions of their bodies. Before we know it we're off into Buttons, her new and equally peculiar tune that could have been written by Messrs Barratt and Fielding. This marks the tone of the evening. Off come the costumes but in their place we are treated to giant neon flowers illuminating the gig and stalking the stage like some hallucinogenic Day of the Triffids. This never detracts from the quality of the music before us, however. Sia's delivery is remarkable and her band sculpt layers around her words that support and enliven their meaning superbly. Breathe Me is epic and carries so much power and emotion as to ensure that there's barely a dry eye in the house by the end of it. [Neal Parsons]