Welcoming a straggling crowd, Elizabeth Rose was the first of two Aussie acts supporting Jessie Ware’s anticipated Laneway Festival sideshow. The Sydney-sider must have been excited to share a stage with Ware, as she donned her best pair of party socks especially for the occasion.
At 22 years, Rose latches an impressive array of titles to her musical tool belt comparable to such artists as Bat for Lashes and Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek.
The singer’s vocal skills were clearly solid; beautifully delicate arpeggios displayed an endearing sweetness in tone, particularly during her EP’s title track, ‘Crystallise’.
Although near-hypnotising swells of synth loops seemed to lull the sparse crowd like reeds in a breeze, the magic was stifled a little as the petite, electro-pop producer/performer stood looking somewhat sandwiched between her equipment for the majority of her set.
Some more experience and developed stage confidence could certainly make Rose a very moving performer.
Collarbones – Sydney’s Marcus Whale and Adelaide’s Travis Cook – followed in waves of body rolling. This electronically produced duo absolutely shines in live performance, and not just because of the glitter smeared across Cook’s face.
Evidently their appeal has not gone unnoticed by Melbourne’s fierce children-of-the-90s indie following, as it didn’t take long for a notable Collarbones fanbase to emerge.
Performances of ‘Too Much’ and their single release, ‘Don Juan’, saw Whale at his finest, while Cook’s intuitive use of loops and drum pads fostered an undeniable confidence within the audience; the duo perform with a tightly refined live production that seems to say, ‘It’s cool, guys. We’ve got this.’
Whale’s richly soulful vocal talent is matched only by his charismatic stage presence, despite claiming his between-songs-banter is the worst part of a Collarbones set, this was debatable once he began flinging copies of sophomore album Die Young to the loudest of audience members.
For Jessie Ware’s first Australian tour, it was uncertain how the 27 year old UK artist would translate her debut solo album to the stage. Breathtakingly, it turns out, is the answer.
Supported by a three piece band, Ware initially stepped into position in front of a large screen displaying her name – in case the audience were in any way unsure who it was they were riotously applauding…
Initially, Ware teetered momentarily on the edge of being sombrely affected by her own music, during her opening performance of her album’s title track, ‘Devotion’.
It wasn’t until the conclusion of the song that the crowd could really relax with her. “I just love St Kilda! It’s not really work, is it? More like a holiday,” she coos.
‘Night Light’ followed closely after, allowing punters to have a bit of a shuffle to the upbeat love dedication.
Ware boasts an unmistakably powerhouse voice, which she uses intelligently without trying to blast the room away simply because she can; her lyrics, while perhaps nothing ground-breaking, are delivered with a uniquely believable emotion.
Although much of the set list could be categorised into an infectious genre of soul-disco fusion (very similar to British predecessors Crazy Penis) there is an irrefutable sincerity supporting the UK artist’s sound.
Three songs in, as though she were just chatting with close friends, the charming singer unceremoniously stripped off her black blouse to reveal a white cotton cropped singlet.
“The press guys only stay for three songs, anyway,” she explains, poking at the top of her arm laughingly.
For the remainder of the evening, it would be forgivable to think perhaps you were stuck in a musical theatre’s chorus, as every audience member audibly whispered to one another (“She’s adorable! I love her! What a voice!”).
Like a prescriptive plot-point, the entire venue was in agreement: Ware had won them over.
After sharing a personal fondness for the song, ‘If You’re Never Gonna Move’ displayed a lighter side to Ware. ‘Taking In Water’ was nothing short of spellbinding, and while the highly popular ‘Wildest Moments’ – written about her best friend – was perhaps not as show-stopping as many had hoped, there were certainly no discernible low points from the evening.
Finally, after announcing that she would not be indulging in an encore as she has “only released one album. I mean, c’mon!”, Ware relented with a broad smile as she accepted one audience member’s request for ‘If You Love Me’.
Her ability to dive right into the song, unrehearsed, was testament to her talent and the strength of her band.
Anyone attending the tail-end of Laneway Festival should make sure they witness what this songstress is capable of.
