Live review: Hozier @ The Palais Theatre
At first it seemed like the lighting in the Palais Theatre was casting strange shadows, but as Hozier (and band) walked into the spotlight it was something far spookier: full Halloween get-up, with Andrew Hozier-Byrne himself rocking up as a dead John Lennon. Four for you, Hozier. You go, Hozier.
In his second Australian tour just this year, the Irish indie/soul/blues artist proves time and time again just how fast he has grown since the release of hit single Take Me To Church last year – in more than one way. Apart from selling out the Palais twice as well as sell-outs in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, every time the 25 year-old steps on stage he ascends to a whole new level.
After having seen him twice at huge European festivals over the past year, it was interesting to see the set translated into a sit-down theatre show: and, to be honest, much better. There’s an intimacy and nuance to his performance that demands something a little classier; the heavily layered vocals needing walls to resonate off – and we were certainly spoilt in Melbourne.
Hozier and his consistently stunning four-piece band plus backing vocalists (also in Halloween garb, of course) opened with ‘Like Real People Do’, melting hearts in four seconds flat. He’s the perfect artist for a venue like the Palais with such high production values, fancy lighting and intense sound – so solid and assured that the showiness only serves to improve his performance rather than distract.
Flitting seamlessly between bluesy rock, legitimate gospel bangers and more heart-melters complete with a lone cellist for extra tear induction, the man certainly knows how to wrap an audience around his little finger. He didn’t say a lot, but he didn’t need to: he injects enough personality into the music to keep an audience entertained for approximately seven years. The little snippets of chatter we did get were, unsurprisingly, full of humility and dry quick-witted quips. Apparently the entire population of Ireland filled the theatre that night; every time he mentioned the country’s name the room erupted into hysterical cheers.
Happy Halloween from Melbourne 🎃👻👹
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One of his two backing vocalists turned out to be fellow Irish singer Karen Cowley, with whom Hozier does another supremely emotional track on his record, ‘In A Week’.
“Well, you guys are very positive and enthusiastic about a song about death, aren’t you?” he laughed.
The song was written about two lovers running off and having a bit of a Romeo and Juliet ‘till death do us part’-type situation in the Wicklow Hills, “a place in Ireland you never hear about unless it’s preceded by the words ‘a body has been found’”.
Tying the whole dead John Lennon business in nicely, another set highlight was a beautifully modern cover of the Lennon-McCartney classic ‘Blackbird’. With soaring harmonies and a bouncy guitar riff, the eternally risky Beatles cover passed with flying colours – the audience quickly caught on and jumped on the singalong boat. The encore provided another cover from a similarly iconic and historical artist, in ‘Problem’ by Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azealia. How’s that for a versatile performer? (Unfortunately we weren’t treated to any Iggy-style rapping, but I’m holding out hope)
For a breakthrough artist with such a ubiquitous single as Take Me To Church, there’s always the worry that the audience has rocked up to see that song alone – but this time, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Plonked somewhere in the middle of the set, the huge hit was no better received than any other album track: he’s a unfailingly outstanding songwriter, and his fans have caught onto the consistency.
Though a genuinely tricky performance to fault at all, it was quite surprising to hear a lot of the album’s stronger tracks in the first half of the set. With the technically impressive ‘From Eden’, bluesy-rock ‘Jackie and Wilson’ and the duet ‘In A Week’ all plonked towards the beginning, the mood got steadily more mellow (with the exception of ‘Take Me To Church’, of course) as time went on, which seemed an odd choice.
Set order aside, there’s no other word for Hozier than superstar. Unaffected by the commercial success, he exudes professionalism, good humour and obvious raw talent. ‘Old soul’ is an awfully clichéd way to describe a young performer, but his constant nods to the old blues musicians he has grown up surrounded by make him perceptive, nuanced, and just a joy to watch. If anyone tries to tell you ‘real music is dead’, send them this way – he’s about as real as it gets.
