Performing their penultimate Australian sideshow to a full house on Thursday night, London Grammar had Melbourne fans under their spell.
Opening the show were Vancouver Sleep Clinic, the moniker of young Brisbane singer-songwriter Tim Bettinson and his band mates David Lucha and Aaron Moore, who supported the British trio for all three of their Australian sideshows.
Despite it only being their second ever show in Melbourne, Bettinson added that it was also the “largest crowd we’ve played to in Melbourne” adding, “Last time we played here there were six people in the room.” The audience at the Prince Bandroom warmly applauded the young group of musicians, who displayed hints of Bon Iver and James Blake influences throughout their set.
Arriving first to the stage (and 10 minutes late) were Dan Rothman and Dot Major, who launched straight into ‘Hey Now’. Moments later, the crowd celebrated the arrival of London Grammar’s lead singer Hannah Reid, who mesmerised the audience from the moment she opened her mouth to sing a slightly rogue version of the song.
After taking to the keyboard three songs into the set for ‘Interlude’, Reid claimed it was the “hardest thing I’ve ever done” before explaining, “Only in Australia would you have to avoid a creepy-crawly on the one key you use the most!”
The young trio were shy, however this made for the perfect amount of crowd interaction, with guitarist Rothman (who admitted he rarely talks on stage) emotionally expressing gratitude for Australia’s support.
Reid also conveyed her thanks to the crowd, stating that it was “crazy” to think that their Melbourne show had sold out in a matter of minutes and had garnered enough demand for a second date.
“This is ‘Stay Awake’ which Triple J have been playing…at least I hope they have, because someone told me they have and if not, that’s embarrassing,” Reid shyly joked before launching into the popular song. Her message was a nice homage to the radio station, the first in the world to play the band’s music.
‘Wasting My Young Years’ generated excitement, while further energy was injected into the mellow set by ‘Flickers’ – a number that showcased great rhythm from multi-instrumentalist Major, who took to the Djembe.
However, it was their rendition of Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ before their cover of the Chris Isaak classic ‘Wicked Games’ that proved to be the highlight of the set. ‘Nightcall’, which Major explained was recorded live for their debut album If You Wait in a “room like this”, perfectly demonstrated London Grammar’s use of juxtaposition, with both the music and Reid’s vocals building intensity.
The trio had the previously chatty audience so quiet that at times it was possible to hear the venue’s air conditioning. The fans rarely sang along, not because they didn’t know the words – London Grammar’s Melbourne fans snapped up the tickets in a matter of minutes – but rather because they were completely transfixed by Reid’s seemingly effortless vocal range. In fact, the audience didn’t sing along until the trio returned for their encore.
‘Strong’ ended their short 50-minute set, a finish that saw the crowd wanting more and demanding a second encore. The response was a rare demand for a relatively new and unheard of band. Whilst the trio may be shy in front of large crowds, London Grammar should expect to hear a lot more of these demands in 2014.
