The heartless, the heartbroken and the heart-breakers came together for a journey into the pain, beauty and essence of love in Fringe World’s Odette Mercy’s Heartbreak Dance.

Over the course of the evening, the audience were guided through a diverse range of performances from musicians, poets, storytellers and rappers, all in the name of love.

Held in The Old Treasury in the heart of the CBD, Heartbreak Dance started with Australia’s first lady of funk, the ineffable Odette Mercy, who burst onto the stage with the vibrant yet casual demeanour we have come to expect from one of Perth’s most experienced front-women.

Complemented perfectly by the tight musicianship of her band, The Soul Atomics, Mercy’s massive voice began the night with a sentimental and soulful numberHeartbreak, urging the loved and loveless in the crowd to take things slowly.

This wasn’t representative of the evening itself, as her introduction was swiftly followed by local guitarist and songwriter Owen Hopwood, touching on that suspended feeling of being kept waiting by the object of your affection.

Local comedian Tien Tran then hit the mic to take us on a personal journey through the misfortunes of his love life, a wonderful and often humorous parable, to conclude that sometimes love needs a leap of faith.

The massive voice of Clare Nina Norelli then provided a hugely moving rendition of En Vogue’s 1996 hit Don’t Let Go.

Somewhere in between, Odette advised the crowd that heartbreak causes a physical reaction best cured by manual labour or heavy lifting. So she invited the audience to their feet for 10 seconds of wild dancing to release any pent-up tension in the heart strings.

The evening took an interesting turn with one of the heartbroken ladies of the audience invited to the stage to be “crooned” to by three local rap vocalists: DVS, Rae and Kid Deus. Each one did his best to impress the forlorn lover with promises of diamonds, wine, walks on the beach and KFC. In the end, the MC, Rae, with the big heart and voice of gold won the prize to escort the slightly embarrassed woman back to her seat. Perhaps hip hop has a way to go before it is the language of love.

The audience was then blessed by local poet and hip hop artist Mathas, whose extraordinarily moving and concise depiction of the flood of emotions that naturally come during a messy break up left the crowd in a silence of self reflection. This was complimented by another local, story teller Lawrence Ashford, whose story of a partner who he neglected to such an extent that the fire of her life was doused, left the room in a cold silence. With perfect comedic timing, he revealed that his accomplice over the years had been a struggling auto-mobile, which broke the tense atmosphere with a euphony of laughter.

The evening came to an apt close with Chris Collan, another fantastic voice from our fair city, and Odette sharing the stage for a final cry of the heart.

Each act played an integral part in the Heartbreak dance and with the help of The Soul Atomic’s steady grooves, painted a textured portrait of love in all its manifestations. Everyone left the room feeling a little more ready for the battleground of love.

The lush high ceilings and decorations of the Perth Town Hall were the perfect accompaniments for the dynamic vocal quintet The Hong Kong Melody Makers.

The five singers from Hong Kong were visibly excited to be on their first Australian tour and provided an aural treat for the crowd with their impressive a capella performance.

The diverse program coursed the traditional Chinese New Year Songs, Chinese pop songs and western classics. Armed simply with microphones and their voices, they created a unique experience filling the hall with crystalline soprano, mesmerising tenor, floor rumbling bass and even spot-on vocal percussion. They even made an effort to get the crowd involved, inviting them to sing along and clap in a series of “tests” of the audience’s musical ability. The front man of the group, Ernest the Tenor, gushed: “Perth is very hot, but actually, you guys are really cool!”.

Humour aside, the performance of the group was nothing short of spectacular. Their precise harmonies were enough to bring out goosebumps on more than one occasion with the two women in the group, Sharon and Kenix, hitting glittering high notes that spread beautifully through the hall. From Gershwin to Chinese pop star Danny Chan and onwards to Stevie Wonder, each song was unique and performed with grace and pinpoint vocal accuracy.

Bass-man Gilbert shocked more then a few members of the crowd with his Barry White-esque baritone, making each piece complete in every way. Patrick, the comedian of the group, was as quick with his wit as he was with his beat-boxing, providing booming toms, airy hats and sparkling splashes without the aid of an actual instrument.

The crowd loved them – so much they returned for two encores – a funky rendition of the Bee Gee’s classic Stayin’ Alive and a stirring performance of Amazing Grace.

The good nature and amazing skills of these talented young people from Hong Kong shone through in a spectacular way. I’m sure that many members of the audience, including myself, spent the remainder of the night in the glow of this gorgeous experience.

The meditative tones of their music were perfectly matched by the free-moving beauty of the two sisters who front the band. Taraka Larson provided lead vocals and an array of synthesizers while Nimai struck a deep syncopation of toms, splashes, crashes and samples triggered from her drum kit.

Michael Collins, the third member of the group, constructed a collage of live effects and visual projections to complete the experience.

The sisters, based in Brooklyn and signed to psychedelic rock/electronic act Animal Collective’s label, were raised in a Hare Krishna commune in Florida. The influence of this upbringing was evident in every song, many that contained traditional Hindi chants and classical Eastern melodies.

While they didn’t speak directly with the crowd, their music said a lot. At the beginning of the set they invited the audience come closer to the stage – a message that later proved to be extremely important.

Within minutes I found myself closing my eyes as their journey began to gain momentum.

During ‘Trust’, which opened with the title repeated in a rising crescendo, Taraka fell back into the crowd and was caught by startled audience members, who then carried her to the back of the room before she daintily made her way back to the front, accompanied by her sister’s rising beats.

Prince Rama are a symbol of the new wave of spiritual music being produced and, flowing like smoke from a stick of burning incense, the trio created a fantastic sense of peace and harmony.

The sisters completed their performance by jumping into the crowd, dancing elatedly while providing kisses and embraces to the freshly enlightened listeners.

The local support acts were also well chosen. The Gulls, Erasers and The Usurpers of Modern Medicine all provided their own brand of trance-like music in the lead up to the main act.

The oppressive heat of a Perth summer in full swing was no match for the enlightening and funky atmosphere created by The Stepkids at the Northbridge venue The Bakery.

Ranging from airy and thoughtful melodies to visceral grooves, the New York trio seemed truly thrilled to provide beautiful music for diverse crowd of steadily bobbing individuals.

Despite having just arrived from Sydney via New York and LA, the energy was high and The Stepkids knew how to get it cooking.

The night began with Perth’s own unique trip-hop duo, Felicity Groom and Diger Rokwell, combining crystalline vocals and the wares of a master beat-smith to build a fantastic ambience for the evening to come. This was followed by a taste of the off-kilter antics and unusual stage presence of local psychedelic rockers TUSK.

However, the main course was yet to come.

Wielding tunes from their new self-titled album, released on the eclectic New York label Stones Throw, The Stepkids stepped onto the stage with the air of a group who are truly in their element when performing live. The music was perfectly complimented by the visual sensations provided by their touring projectionist, who sprayed a kaleidoscope of rhythmically throbbing colours over the band and their backdrop.

The Stepkids captured the meaning of the expression ‘turning it loose’ with a masterfully composed cavalcade of sometimes chaotic rhythms and chords paired with deep and danceable bass lines.

Without missing a step, they took the crowd on a journey from energetic up-tempo funk to the sassy and soothing tones of the blues. At times, there was even a distinct flavour of the Bee Gees, complete with trademark falsetto and disco a sensibility.

Throughout the performance, they expressed how thankful they were for such a great reception for their first performance in Australia. The crowd’s cries of “we love you!” were swiftly returned with amazing grace: “we love you too!”.

Once again, The Bakery has proven to be a hub for fresh music and artists from across the globe as well as our own backyard. The faces of the revellers said it all and the cries of encore echoed the sentiments of the entire room.

This was an entirely auspicious beginning to this year’s Fringe World Festival.

More then a few mouths were agape as The Wau Wau Sisters, in their Fringe World show, Naked As The Day They Were Born Again, burst on to the stage wearing nothing but their birthday suits.

The vivacious duo chatted animatedly with the audience as they romped through their acrobatic, music and comedy routine – sparkling almost as much as the glitter caked on to their naked bodies.

Once the introductions had been made and bright cowgirl outfits donned, the beautiful sisters took up their guitars and sang, country-and-western style, an original song about their love for “girls, boys and everything in between”.

In a fantastic display of strength and skill, the pair took turns in supporting each other’s bodies with their legs and arms, while not missing a strum of their guitars.

This was when this neo-cabaret/burlesque show really hit its groove.

Two unsuspecting young men in the crowd, chosen for their beards and physical stature, were then given the opportunity to swap outfits with the Wau Waus and engage in a few on-stage balancing acts of their own. Their participation ended with a tantalising rendition of the Can-Can that had unshaven legs and smiles flying around the stage.

The sisters closed the evening with a majestic feat of acrobatics on the trapeze. Centred between the aisles, the Wau Wau Sisters displayed a daredevil array of twists and gravity defying acrobatics to the sound of Khe Sanh, a touching homage to their Australian hosts.

The diverse expression of creativity within this performance left the crowd floating in awe. This is a perfect example of what Fringe World is all about.

More than just a comedy act, Bob Slayer took us on an unorthodox, improv journey into his outrageous psyche.

Living up to his show’s name, Bob Slayer Will Outdrink Australia, the former tour manager turned stand-up downed pints at a rate that would give Bob Hawke a run for his money.

The punters did well to mind their beverages as the surprisingly nimble Mr Slayer was fond of dashing into the crowd and stealing unguarded beers. And this was before the show, in the appropriately situated stage room at Northbridge bar Rosie O’Grady’s, had even begun.

Slayer, making his way to us from Hereford in the west of England, began his foray into comedy while working for an American alternative rock group, The Bloodhound Gang. He was pushed onto the stage as a distraction while the musicians went to have a cigarette break. He found that the more entertaining he was, the fewer cups of beer and other liquids seemed to be hurled in his direction.

This unconventional introduction to comedy seems to have contributed in no small part to Slayer’s ability to create an on-the-fly evening of comedy using his own experience, the goodwill of the crowd and litres upon litres of liquid courage.

As people trickled in after the 8.30pm start time, he made sure they knew he was not pleased, producing a gigantic extendible pointer with which to isolate and berate the latecomers. While the room was small, the seats were packed and he created a real camaraderie among the crowd, many of whom were quick to freshen his drink after one of his many speed-drinking efforts.

At times, Slayer himself even seemed taken aback by his own lack of structure and form, constantly apologising for the lack of momentum on the basis that his free-drink limit had been lowered from seven pints to three after the previous night’s antics. After ensuring, in his own words, that the crowd hated him enough to get involved, he procured a dart board and offered himself as a target.

After taking us through some slightly less G-rated forms of audience participation, which left him wearing nothing but a shirt tucked into his underpants, Slayer’s grand finale got the whole room shaking.

Pulling an embarrassed audience member from the comfort of his seat, Slayer set about dressing up the young man as Freddy Mercury before thrusting a sheet of lyrics into his hands and urging the crowd to stomp their feet and clap in a rousing rendition of We Will Rock You.

Walking through Northbridge a while later, I saw Slayer moving between watering holes with some of the audience in tow.

Bob Slayer certainly could out-drink Australia, and he certainly cemented a devoted and thirsty following of Fringe-goers.