LIVE: Angus and Julia Stone – Perth, 29 Sep, 2017

Shane | 3 October 2017 | Reply

LIVE: Angus and Julia Stone – Perth, 29 Sep, 2017
Perth Concert Hall, 29th September 2017
Reviewed by Peter Gardner

The auspicious surroundings of The Perth Concert Hall was a fitting venue for Australia’s favourite siblings of folk rock to weave their magic over a sold out auditorium.

The support act, Ruel, a 14 year old discovery who appeared with M-Phazes on Triple J’s Like A Version in June, gave a set which promises him a bright career ahead. The band of keyboard, guitar and drums were minimalist for the first half of the set, letting Ruel’s voice do the work. Picking up an acoustic guitar he introduced Meet Me In The Middle, a song he co-wrote with Julia Stone. The tempo picked up for the second half of the set with the band finally doing some work as Ruel presented his first single, Don’t Tell Me, to the steadily filling room.

From the moment Julia Stone stepped out with her trumpet, embraced in a cone of purple light, playing the opening bars of Baudelaire, the audience was transfixed. Make It Out Alive and Cellar Door were performed against mellow low key lighting and a hypnotic back drop of kaleidoscopes, forests, wolves and a rising full moon, building the dream-like atmosphere as the duo’s voices effortlessly played off one another.

In a set heavily weighted to their new album, with a few older songs scattered throughout, Angus and Julia both showed their mastery of multiple instruments. Julia picked up the acoustic guitar to play the intro to Heart Beat Slow, and switched to bass for Chateau. She finally said, “hello” to the audience to introduce Wherever You Are, as a chair is brought on stage to serve as a harmonica stand, allowing Angus’ harmonica solo to get the biggest cheer of the night so far.

Angus leads the vocals on Bloodhound to a backdrop of slow motion splashing lava before Julia switches back to acoustic guitar to intro Private Lawns. The inclusion of a banjo solo, and an effortless one handed trumpet solo from Julia as she holds onto her guitar with the other, provide another of the highlights of the evening.

A keyboard is brought on stage for Angus as they lift the tempo for Who Do You Think You Are, before Angus takes his turn in the spotlight to perform Uptown Folks from his Dope Lemon project. The Contrast between the pair is never more evident, with Julia beguiling in a black dress with white frills and a pair of glittered ankle boots, compared to Angus hiding behind his fulsome beard, in a flat cap and t-shirt, looking like he’s just strolled in from tending the veggie patch.

Harmonising wonderfully on Nothing Else, Angus plays the cigar box bass before another one handed trumpet solo from Julia. This leads into Big Jet Plane, incredibly played even more laid back than the original, with an appreciative cheer from the crowd.

Julia now takes the time to chat with the audience to tell the story of unrequited love which resulted in her writing For You. It is in this song the husky, childlike distinctiveness of her voice shines as she brings a wealth of emotion to the song – and a lump to the throat of the listener.

The tempo is lifted again for My House Your House, before closing out the set with the album title track Snow, and copious amounts of fake snow falling on the stage – mostly landing on Angus, much to the amusement of the rest of the band. The encore break was slightly extended as the stage crew frantically cleared fake snow off the equipment.

Returning to the stage Oakwood is followed by a cover of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, before closing out the set with the oldest song of the night, Soldier.

The only down side to the evening was the muddiness of the PA, which is a pity as I would have expected better sound at the Perth Concert Hall. Fortunately this didn’t detract too much from the experience and it was an unpleasant shock to return to cold reality when the house lights finally came back up.