Live Review: Ngaiire, Lester The Fierce, Elana Stone

Elana Stone plays the piano accordion. Already she's in the good books as far as creative stage presence goes. She also wore a bright blue leotard and joined by Jack Britton on keyboards and drum machine, they produced folky, synth-tinged tunes accented by Stone's clear and sparkly melodies.

Adjusting the tone to a darker, more pensive setting, Melbourne's Lester The Fierce arrived to show-off her shiny new EP set for release today. Her deep register was impressive on tracks like new single, Howl, and she shimmied around in bejewelled shoulder pads with her four-piece band.

Renowned for her innovative dress sense, Papua New Guinea born Sydney local Ngaiire didn't disappoint. She arrived on stage wearing a crown made of palm tree swivel sticks, a huge denim jacket covered in spikey studs, pink dinosaurs and Donald Duck's face and Converse shoes with pompom apricots sprouting from the tops. 

Equipped with three band members (including album producer Tim Curnik on bass and effects) and a drum machine storing a cohort of pre-recorded backing vocals and loops, she spun into a sombre set of neo folk-soul songs dotted with dance tracks like the upbeat and memorable rendition of album ballad, Ordinary.

The set highlight was ABCD, which she explained was written for a friend who died of a broken heart because he couldn't marry the woman that he loved. Her live vocals are on par with the album recording – no, they're even better. She added ad-libs and variations on the melody that worked perfectly. Even her banter between songs was melodic.

For the finale, she invited her old backing singers to the stage for Dirty Hercules and the “why don'tcha” jam at the end of the song was electric.

A trio of strong female vocalists, the show was the epitome of cohesion and Ngaiire was an exquisite experience, showcasing a sound and performance that is unique and passionate – she was equally as endearing as she was lost in the rhythm of the music.