Being their first ever headline tour on Australian soil, a serious display of musical talent was put on show at Sydney’s The Star on Tuesday night as OneRepublic brought their latest album, Native, to the stage.
But before the night had even started, the first challenge was finding the joint. After trekking around the casino (running into many other lost faces) and being continually told by staff and security “this is not the place you’re looking for”, we eventually found the line. And boy, was that baby long.
After finally getting inside, we managed to catch the last half of former The Voice contestant Emma Birdsall’s set. Birdsall casually chatted away to the crowd before coming out with an original number entitled ‘One Direction’ – a name that drew giggles from the room.
The singer showcased her amazing voice while finishing her set with a cover of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Suit And Tie’. Birdsall proved she could not only sing, but that she also had a few rap skills up her sleeve
The lights went up and a white sheet came down over the stage, drawing a roar of applause from the crowd. Anticipation buzzed around the room. When the lights finally went down again, the sound of yelling from the crowd was deafening.
As if the people weren’t already anxious enough, the fivesome played the entirety of their first song for the night, ‘Light It Up’, behind the sheet as silhouettes.
Finally dropping the cover to a blaze of smoke machines and a screaming crowd, they launched into the older songs ‘Secrets’ and ‘All The Right Moves’.
With an envious display of coloured spotlights, neon blazing diamonds, and a large screen projecting interesting visuals and videos throughout the night, they definitely made full use of The Star’s show-stopping facilities.
You could literally feel the floor move as they played one of their most famous hits, ‘Stop And Stare’. The song featured a brief acoustic take and was just the beginning of Ryan Tedder’s insane, goosebump-drawing vocal ability.
The rest of the band’s talents were demonstrated as well when Zach Filkins opened ‘Counting Stars’ with a finger-melting guitar solo.
We were given a moment to catch our breath when an entertaining reel of Charlie Chaplain clips appeared, keeping the crowd entertained while the stage was re-set. The lights then came back up to reveal a neon-lit piano.
Then came the hit that started it all, ‘Apologize’.
Mixing it up a bit, the song was fused with Macklemore’s ‘Same Love’, Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ and, while getting the crowd to continue singing Rihanna, a bit of Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’.
The mood changed as the guys performed an acoustic set during ‘Burning Bridges’ and ‘Preacher’.
Going back to the piano, Tedder began to launch into ‘I Gotta Woman’ when, for the first time in his eight years of touring, the instrument broke. Within a few minutes the show was back on track, and the crowd was treated to an amazing cover of Kanye West’s ‘Gold Digger’.
The energy and enthusiasm never let up as they continued to bring out hits from their new album, including ‘Can’t Stop’, ‘Something I Need’, and ‘I Lived’.
‘Good Life’ and ‘Feel Again’ had the crowd jumping and brimming with positivity.
They mixed up ‘Life In Colour’, playing around with the sound and bringing out a more acoustic, chilled version that included a verse from Matt Corby’s ‘Brother’.
Ending on ‘If I Lose Myself’, nothing was left in the tank. The finale included smoke and confetti machines going off, blinding lights, throat straining vocals, and endless energy.
Promising to be back in the not too distant 2014, OneRepublic should definitely go on the “must-see live” list. They will deliver you a show that reminds you why you bother to go see bands live in the first place.
Setlist
Light It Up
Secrets
All the Right Moves
What You Wanted
Stop And Stare
Counting Stars
Apologize / We Found Love / Yellow
Burning Bridges
Preacher
I Gotta Woman / Gold Digger
Can’t Stop
Something I Need
I Lived
Good Life
Feel Again
Life In Colour
If I Lose Myself
