Allen StoneOpening up the evening, Moruya-born songwriter Alice Terry donned her Gretsch guitar “Billie” (as in Billie Holiday) and scatted her way through a repertoire of blues and country tunes, impressing the crowd with her flawless, husky control.
Allen Stone ambled on stage after an organ-infused Stevie Wonder instrumental, wearing his token cardigan, rimmed glasses and a felt fedora atop a shock of golden curls. Swinging his elbows and knees at all angles in a gangly ho-down mixed with James Brown kind of groove, the Stone experience is raw and uninhibited. At 26, the Seattle native has gone back in time to revitalise old-school soul and gospel and with pitch perfect live vocals and a phenomenally tight five-piece band. His performance at Blue Beat got straight to the essence of what live music is all about. The setlist ran the gamut of his self-titled album, but the highlight of the show was a rasping rendition of Bob Marley's Is This Love that had Stone leaping onto his tiptoes to reach flawless falsetto screams before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Contact High, the crowd-swaying love song Your Eyes and the cheeky suave he pulled off on Marcy Playground's Sex And Candy were stand-outs, and a dapper six-string bass guitar solo had Stone lost in the music, sliding on his knees.
For the encore, Stone pulled out all stops on Last To Speak, a solo acoustic guitar tune about humility and the “epidemic of arrogance” in the United States. Yes, it covered a lot of political ground and showcased his inner preacher, but Stone flipped the message at the last second, singing “I'm just another bitch with an instrument… I should be the last to speak”.
Allen Stone is reinventing quality live performance for a new generation. Prompting his audience to ditch their iPhones and start shaking their arse, it's safe to say Sydney found its Satisfaction.
