Live Review: City & Colour, Husky

Melbourne indie outfit Husky were the perfect choice to open the show at Sydney's grand State Theatre on Sunday night. Those fortunate enough to find their seats early were treated to an earnest performance of honest music and wholesome talent. Their brand of soft ballads, echoing harmonies and flowing rhythms that swelled and crashed over the audience was nothing but a pleasure to witness. There was no fancy stuff going on - a guitar, drum kit, bass, keyboard and lead singer Husky Gawenda's soaring vocals were evidently the only things needed to create the intricate and complex details in each track. It was an intimate set that had the audience gazing up from their seats in appreciation and humming along with the lyrics.

First off, massive props given to the stamina and endurance of the musicians who took to the stage for the main act of Sunday night's show. The set times posted on the door of the theatre stated that City & Colour were to play for two hours. This reviewer assumed that was in case things were running behind schedule. But no, the band came on stage and there they remained for two hours for a theatre-worthy performance that never lost its pace. City & Colour, fronted by Canadian Dallas Green, were a powerhouse of incredible talent. They produced and maintained a sound that sent vibrations up the chairs in the audience, though it needs to be said that Green's voice is undisputedly the star of the show. Visiting tracks from the latest album, The Hurry And The Harm, as well as the previous three albums, Green held the audience captive with that voice for an entire two hours. The set was illuminated by an impressive light show that turned these musicians into performers. Green himself was humble and personable, responding to calls from the audience seated in front of him. “Do you usually open your Christmas presents the night before?!” he replied to a punter requesting Green's number one single, The Girl. While the punter had to wait another hour and a half to hear the track, when the band returned for an encore, it was worth the wait. City & Colour's rendition of The Girl encapsulated the entire night, showcasing the raw, incomprehensible talent in Green's vocals and the pulsing energy the band perform with – it was better than Christmas morning.