Few people are able to walk into a sizeable venue such as The Hi-Fi on a sold out Wednesday night and make every single member of the audience feel like they are the only ones standing in the room. One person who does this, and very well I might add, is Pete Murray.
Embarking on a national tour and hitting Brisbane’s Hi-Fi bar as a part of it, Murray played to a sold out crowd with support from the very talented Nathan Kaye. It’s no wonder Murray has drawn such a large audience as he never disappoints his legion of fans across the country.
From the moment Murray takes to the stage, he has the entire venue eating out of the palm of his hand. With barely enough room for punters to move around, the band get stuck into a fantastic set that features such hits as “Better Days” quite early on.
Straight away, Murray and the band joining him on this night, have clicked and the sound that is coming from the stage is very tight. The beautiful acoustics feature throughout the entire night accompanied by the singer’s incredible soothing vocals.
Besides the music, which is being played perfectly, one of the great things about these shows are the stories that come out about the songs and how they have touched fans across the country. The tale of how the lyrics of “My Time” saved one man’s life comes out alongside many others.
As if the night couldn’t get any better, the friends that Murray has join him on stage are rather impressive, including Thirsty Merc guitarist Matthew Baker and ex-Powderfinger bassist John Collins.
Newer songs such as “Hurricane Coming” get a run in the set before the frontman starts asking for requests. “I’m not gonna play “So Beautiful” this early in the set”, Murray laughs as he starts into “Free”.
Keeping the audience entertained is always a daunting task but nobody does it better than Murray as he then launches Brisbane into a clapping competition against Yamba and Ipswich…the latter of which is the best so far.
“If you’re not clapping then you will be pulled up on stage”, is Murray’s threat to the crowd and sure enough, one young bloke by the name of James is forced on to the stage to try again, this time in front of the entire room. Finally getting stuck back into the song, the main man keeps the crowd laughing as he changes the lyrics up to sing about Beenleigh.
As the laughing and clapping of “Free” come to an end, one of the more touching stories of the night comes out. Murray tells the crowd of Annie, a woman who has been battling cancer for the past 25 years and how he always sings the following song for her. As he makes his way into “Opportunity”, it doesn’t take long before everyone in the room is singing along, finishing in a rousing applause.
“Let You Go”, “Always A Winner” and “Feeler” bring about the end of the set before the inevitable encore takes place. Returning to the stage, Murray asks the crowd what they would like to hear but eventually gives them “Please”, a Cold Chisel cover with “Forever Now” before taking the night out with the much called for “So Beautiful”.
The night is just that, so beautiful. The vocals, the musicianship, the stories and the overall atmosphere of the room have been something very special and no one is leaving disappointed.
