Washington presents Insomnia

For a pop record, Insomnia is not an easy listen. It's an especially uncomfortable listen if you know that it's an examination of the birth, struggles and death of her relationship with Tim Rogers of You Am I, much as her debut album, I Believe You Liar, is mainly concerned with her on-again-off-again relationship with Michael Tomlinson (frontman of the now-defunct Yves Klein Blue). But where Liar was leavened by moments of pure joy, most of Insomnia is weighed down with exhaustion and sorrow. Megan Washington had been hospitalised twice with pneumonia during the period it was written, touring madly in an attempt to break the US while dealing with an increasingly toxic relationship. 

No wonder she doesn't want to tour it. 

In an interview for this show she'd explained to Time Out how little she wanted to sing these songs night after night and that this performance would be her sole airing of the album in its entirity. After a short but dull set by Oliver Tank (sorry if that sounds harsh: any one of his songs sound wonderful, but five really, really similar tracks performed one after the other did not make for a dynamic set, although the shout out to his mum was very cute), stage left filled with a string section (featuring players from the Australian Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Denholm), three guitarists (including Tank), bass, a couple of keyboard players and a drummer/percussionist. 

Stage right contained a couch, an upright piano and a few bits of manipulated furniture and, after what amounted to an overture, Ms Washington herself - looking, it has to be said, absolutely stunning. No longer looking gaunt and ill, here she seemed lean and strong – and she needed to be, given both the emotional weight of the songs and the frequently gymnastic melody lines such as 'Sentimental Education''s soaring held notes and 'Plastic Bag''s playful vocal runs.

The set was the Insomnia album in its entirety, though not in order, insterspersed with instrumental interludes and short films projected at the back of the stage. No stage banter, little interaction with the band, Megan was all about the performance of these songs, leaving her musicians to perform far superior arrangements of the songs – 'Letterbox' and 'High Treason' sounded amazing, and the set-closing 'Holy Moses' may have lacked the kazoos but had instead a freakin' amazing percussion solo.

Washington played surprisingly little piano, though the encores were primarily her solo with a little bit of strings. Were these new songs or obscure covers? I confess ignorance, but they sounded superb – and the two standing ovations she received suggests the rest of the Opera House felt much the same.