Mike Rosenberg, aka Passenger, is incredible. He’s talented, has an enchanting voice, a captivating stage presence, charm, wit, and a brilliant sense of humour.
He’s everything an entertaining musician should be, which explains why the Brit has sold out two seated shows at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre, has a single sitting at #1 on the iTunes charts, an album at #2, and has stolen hearts right across the world.
He’s worked his way from rock bottom by busking his way from country to country, which is perhaps why his music is so enchanting. He shares stories of people he’s met travelling and the songs he’s written about them; he tells the most horrendously lame but delightfully cute jokes – oh, and he sings and plays guitar too.
This pleasant little Brighton man is taking the world by storm, and his performance at the Athenaeum on Thursday evening displayed exactly why.
The evening showcased three sets of men with acoustic guitars, the first being rising Queenslander Stu Larsen. Being good friends with Rosenberg, the pair have toured together across many countries in the past 18 months.
The bearded, friendly Bowenville local filled his set with pleasant folk tracks, setting a mood that would continue for the rest of the night. Touring the country next month, Larsen is certainly worth checking out.
The settled and attentive crowd was next greeted with the presence of South Australian Sam Brittain. The talkative blues and roots guitarist sang his way through a collection of Australian-sounding folk tracks that only continued to get better as the set continued.
Humourous conversation ensued between members of the audience and Brittain, providing an impromptu “Q and A with Sam”, as the singer joked. This included a yell of “What’s your name?” from one newly instated fan, pointing out a vital piece of information the singer-songwriter had neglected to inform.
Before a stage decorated with Chinese lanterns, a young and trendy audience sat on velvet seats and waited for Passenger to appear. It was a rare sight to see such a crowd in a venue like The Athenaeum. However, once the beautifully accented Englishman began his performance the venue choice seemed perfect.
All three tiers of the audience were so entranced by Rosenberg’s music that you could almost hear a pin drop. During “Blind Love” Rosenberg noted the silence and captivation of crowd, so much so that he unplugged his guitar, stepped away from the microphone and performed the song in its purest form.
Deploying a stunt a few of the gig-goers would not have encountered before, Passenger well and truly pulled it off, making it a breathtaking and heartwarming offering.
With his acoustic guitar by his side, the indie folk artist played a collection of songs from his latest album, 2012’s All The Little Lights, some older numbers from 2010’s Flight Of The Crow, and even some yet to be released (that the audience surprisingly already knew the words to).
He drank wine on stage and thanked the crowd a number of times (and Ed Sheeran too) for getting him to where he is today. Jokes constantly made their way into his between-song banter and storytelling, including a hilarious ‘gangsta’ impersonation of someone getting “up in his grill y’all”. In his well-to-do British accent, of course.
iPhoneographers were thankfully small in number, but still did their best to capture the magic as Rosenberg performed the emotional number “Travelling Alone”.
Rosenberg slipped in several lines of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” – goat version – as well as Haddaway’s old school “What is Love”, revealing yet again the singer-songwriter’s ability to combine witty humour with his musical talents.
The masses stood throughout upbeat numbers such as “I Hate”, complete with foot stomping and clapping, and screams were let out as Passenger’s biggest hit “Let Her Go” began.
Larsen then joined Rosenberg on stage for a harmonious and enthralling encore of “Heart’s On Fire”, Passenger then finishing up with the obvious crowd pleaser and upbeat hit “Holes”.
Not a single soul lacked happiness and warmth after walking out of the Athenaeum that evening. Mike Rosenberg, you are welcome back anytime.
