Skipping on stage like a child in the midst of playtime, the delightfully debonair Owl Eyes began her set wide eyed, with a gleaming grin, the audience knew she had something truly magical to show us.
Brooke Addamo had a spring in her step as she bounced to her enchanted electronics and blissfully showcased her sweet, honey sounds starting with title track from her new album Nightswim a heavy beat, ballad for her loyal following.
Playing in her hometown, the crowd admired Addamo’s remarkable transformation from ex-Australian Idol adolescent to determined young lady who seems to have it all worked out.
While some stared, mouths open at her heavenly vocals and others at her glorious gown, there was no doubting that her only Melbourne show sold-out for a reason. This girl is good.
The doe-eyed indie pop songster continued her electrifying pop with a dignified maturity, waltzing into tracks ‘Ivory’ and ‘Hurricane’.
She schmoozed the crowd with shy onstage banter, throwing a cheeky “you’re sexy too” to one lucky front-row lad.
‘Diamonds In Her Eyes’ is a mellow yet bold frustrating confession of lover’s past, with Addamo crying out “tell me what you what ”, lyrics that echoed in every ear that night.
Anthem-esque ‘Love Run Dry’ was a crowd favourite, with fans joining the lovely lyricist bellowing “I see you” in the circular chorus.
The set diverted dynamically into synth and electric overdose, with old time favourite ‘Crystalised’ pumping the gig-goers into a flurry of fun fuelled, dance appropriate sounds
What sets this songstress apart from many artists was her conscious colour-coded lighting that travelled the complete spectrum from deep blues for opener ‘Nightswim’ to epileptic bursts of vibrant yellows and pinks for ‘Crystalised’.
The gracious Owl Eyes thanked the audience after every song, but the more she played, one couldn’t help but feel that the audience should really be the ones doing all the thanking.
Wandering closer and closer to the crowd, it was clear that Addamo had warmed up, giving the crowd a sweet taste of nostalgia with Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ – a song that felt right at home in the setlist.
Addamo was having a blast, spurting out an unexpected, “c’mon you have to know this one, let’s dance”.
Playing a few more tunes from her bold, coming of age debut, Owl Eyes suddenly announced the final song was upon her fans, and called on her support act, and her her “favourite friends” Collarbones, for an onstage dance to “Golden Lies”
The songstress and her band scurried off stage but while the audience was still hanging out for newly released hit ‘Closure’ to come.
“I don’t usually do encores… But I lied” said the petite pop poet before the crowd recognized the familiar electronic beat to her latest ‘Closure’.
Ending on the highest of highs, ‘Raiders’ closed the night with an all out dance fest, with everyone signing along to the playful bridge and chorus.
“This is the last song I promise, but thank you again blah blah yadda yadda”, a true thank you from a young woman still childlike in nature.
All in all the gig was in its entirety a harmonious, multi-layered mix of sounds, sights and whimsical talent. A progressive pop party fit for any dancing queen.
