Live Review: The Audreys

“So how’s the exhibition? Is it any good?” Taasha Coates asks the black swathed crowd after a few songs. “You’re better!” someone calls out from the flanks and there’s nods of approval all around.

Under scrutiny from serious art lovers and members of Melbourne’s intelligentsia who had made a Friday night date with Titian, Raphael and Correggio, The Audreys share a venue with masterpieces that have spanned centuries tonight and hold their own. The iconic glass ceiling of the Great Hall reverberates with Coates’ luminous vocals, gently accompanied by Tristan Goodall. The duo dip generously into tracks from their latest album ‘Til My Tears Roll Away, with the standouts being Comfort Me, the country pop-inspired My Darlin’ Girl and the indulgently vengeful Roll Away.

Even without a full band, and the guest vocals that feature on the record, The Audreys are no less impressive. Coates alternately plays melodica and gracefully feathers her guitar between verses, solo vocals conveying every nuance and emotion with brevity. In Goodall’s hands, his guitars and banjo are the instinctive breath to Coates’ words. The pinnacle of the evening is the moving Small Things, which elicits a moment of reverential silence at its conclusion before an uproarious applause from even the farthest, deepest pockets of the hall.

The long, narrow floor plan is an unconventional space inside which to stage a live music performance but, with strategically placed speakers and all doors flung open, the sound quality is much better than expected. The only minor hitch during is the onstage volume, which the pair discreetly signal a couple of times needs turning up.

One would be hard pressed to find a more family-friendly, innovative venue to celebrate the end of the working week. Young children nestle into the laps of their parents as they stretch out on the carpeted floor in front of the stage, lulled by the dreamy melodies. Slender wine flutes and goblets line tall bar tables instead of pints of beer. Not a spare seat could be found as art enthusiasts and Friday night revellers draw in magnetically to take in the soothing, irresistible charms of this Adelaide-based duo, who even forsake the treasured Spanish-sourced paintings they have come to view. Relaxed and refined, The Audreys do the old masters of the High Renaissance proud.