Went to see her last night.

Sensational!

Her voice is stronger, more soulful, more angry and still more tender than ever.

Saw her about five years ago here and she put on a great show that night (she had a full brass section and Liam O'Maonlai of the Hothouse Flowers playing in her band) and I thought she was terrific.

But last night's show was really head and shoulders better. She had a raw, stripped down band of excellent musicians - particularly Rich Armstrong, her trumpet player, and even though the Academy can be a little sterile at times (We saw Kathleen Edwards there a few weeks ago and she didn't seem able to get into it at all), Michelle was on really good form. It was the last night of the tour and she was determined to tell everyone in the room how much she loved them.

She only played a couple of new songs from her new "Threesome" set of albums, but the two she played: "How You Play The Game" and "Evacuation Route" are at least on a par with her best material.

Excellent, excellent stuff.

One, small, quibble about her soapboxing.... we all know she's had a hard time with her record company and "the biz" in general. Once is enough. Let it go.

The fact that she's bounced back and is now able to tour and record on her own terms is the best testament to her staying power, talent and determination.

The music itself is the statement. The perfect, eloquent reminder that no matter how much petty, small-minded, mean-spirited crap someone has to put up with, the fact that they are able to come through that a whole person and, from a career perspective, be even better than they were before, shows the world that there was no way they'd ever be kept down; and maybe all they needed was to do things for themselves instead of serving someone else.