Live Review: Thief, Anna O, Leure

Leure kicked things off on the warm Saturday night to a practically empty room. A shame, as her hypnotic vocals and bass-heavy beats made for a strong and enjoyable performance. Attendance hadn't really picked up much by the time Anna O and her band took to the stage, but she enticed patrons to make their way inside with some incredibly catchy pop-rock hits. New single Sleepless was a huge highlight of the set, while the cover of Avicii's Addicted To You had the audience swooning. The set featured plenty of variety – O and the band would climb up to explosive highs with their energy levels, before dipping down and stripping back with something a little slower. The audience was given an instrumental feast, with catchy guitar hooks, '80s synth wash-overs, and even elements of funk by way of some awesome bass lines filling out the room, while Anna managed to show off her fantastic vocal ability from strong mid-range vocal lines to soaring and crisp top-end explosions of splendour. All up, the group set the scene perfectly for the heavily anticipated headliner.

A short break later, and it was finally time for Thief to grace the stage. He did so in fine fashion, launching straight into it with some incredibly catchy beats and bringing into the room a horde of punters in the process. The buzz around the room reached a new level as he reached Closer - the title track from his new EP – which incorporated intricate synth melodies and a super groovy disco styling in the vocal delivery which got the crowd moving for the first time that night. What sets Thief apart from similar artists is that despite his heavy use of synth, he has the ability to transition between drawn-out, measured sounds and short, sharp beats, all the while managing to keep his work sounding slick and polished. The performance never felt like dragging, nor did anyone feel like they were losing focus amidst the electronica. Thief ended the set in style, bringing out his arguably biggest and catchiest hit to date in Broken Boy, which produced the biggest reaction from the crowd that night. The show ended on a high for the audience, and given the calibre of the performance, Thief should be feeling the same way as he finishes off his tour.