Upon entering The Corner, the room is already half-full of fans waiting for the promise of melodious soul music from Daniel Merriweather.
Support act Ali Barter plays lush dreamy folk music, her sweet girlish voice strong and engaging.
The quieter acoustic songs don’t quite engage the chattering crowd, but her stage presence is good, and the tracks such as “Fire And Ice” with heavy, layered walls of sound fare much better. Accompanied by Oscar and Steve on guitar and bass, the trio has a dexterous creative vibe.
Barter’s self-effacing politeness and sweet folky tunes do not prepare the audience for the fact that somebody, or something, has stolen Daniel Merriweather’s soul.
Performing on the eve of his 31st birthday, he appears on stage and launches into the laid-back groove of “Getting Out”.
He’s backed by Melbourne soul band Saskwatch, and he informs the crowd, “I rang these guys 48 hours ago”, which does beg the question, why doesn’t he have a rehearsed band to accompany him for this show? He is very gracious and effusive with his praise for Saskwatch over the course of the night, and the camaraderie is unforced and even pleasant to watch.
Second track “Cigarettes” with its opening lines “I wasn’t going to drink tonight / Then I went to a bar” perhaps sets the scene for some of Merriweather’s appearance for the night: unfocussed hazy eyes, occasional meandering pauses between tracks and general disorientation.
He claims that he is only drinking water tonight, but he often seems distant, and his face clouds between songs as he rubs at his head.
He doesn’t quite manage to grab the entire attention of the crowd, and there is audible talking during tracks.
During “Change”, arguably one of the most well-known tracks from his 2009 debut album Love & War, he tries inciting the crowd to sing the catchy “Laaa la la la la” chorus, which inspires a few diehards to join in, but it’s certainly not a gutsy shout out.
At times he cracks out a few high-pitched, staccato screams, which regrettably border on sounding like a fraudulent Jimmy Barnes impersonator.
“Falling Down” is a definite highlight, a more recent song that actually rips into some real feeling and for the first time he seems to put everything into it. It is mesmerising – “Falling Down / Everybody sees it but nobody’s saying a thing” – perhaps because it rings as true.
Popular song “Red” is trucked out toward the end of the night, and yet there is still ongoing chitchat throughout the crowd.
Although Merriweather’s voice and pitch are still evident, the power and soul is missing.
He appears to be going through the motions – light years away, completely untouchable.
