Live Review: Dan Sultan

Dan Sultan really got under our skin last night. Performing solo in the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium Of Music, as part of his sold-out Pop-Up tour, the ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter showed us why he's got the whole package: an incredibly powerful voice, great looks and good chat.

Most people are used to hearing his signature electric roots-rock sound charged by a full band, but tonight he insisted it was "not a real concert" and so we got something very intimate and unconventional. The first half of the evening was spent premiering a stripped-back version of his upcoming fourth album on a grand piano, and chatting the audience through his writing process. Sultan claims he wrote two records: one that he is road testing now, which features the soulful poeticism of lead single Magnetic, and one which is supposedly "shit". If we weren't listening intently to how the forthcoming and unadvertised album came to be, we were cracking up at his self-deprecating one-liners.

The Melbourne-based artist's raw, compelling voice infused the room, amplified by the exceptional acoustics of the Verbrugghen Hall. New material roused many in the seated crowd to applause, the approval for which he was very grateful.

For the second half of the set, Sultan returned to the stage and plugged in his worshipped guitar to play us some old favourites from the Blackbird and Get Out While You Can albums. It was clear the Conservatorium was filled with fans who had followed his journey from the beginning, with fierce gospel rock tracks like Under Your Skin, Kimberley Calling and The Same Man striking a chord even without all the usual bells and whistles.

"No refunds" the young frontman kept muttering comedically between songs. Don't worry Dan, something tells us nobody wanted one after a performance like that.