Angus & Julia StonePlaying festivals, branching off for their solo endeavours and continuing to release new music together, it's only been a minute since folk brother-sister duo Angus & Julia Stone have been on tour and they are back again to showcase new album, Snow.
Well and truly selling out Eatons Hill Hotel, this highly anticipated performance has gig-goers filling every inch of the room. Being more of a showcase of their talent and hard-hitting lyrics rather than a performance that needs props and choreography, the stage is set at a minimum. But at minimum, there is still an abundance of instruments including a banjo, a violin, an array of guitars and a trumpet.
The lights go out and they quietly take the stage to an intense violin that leads into 2010 track, Draw Your Swords. It is then made evident that tonight is going to be a whirlwind of emotions and worth the trek to Eatons Hill. Between each song change the crowd stand in silence, getting fully immersed in the set until someone slurs, "Happy Birthday, Angus," and the whole crowd chants Happy Birthday to receive a humble wave from the artist. Playing and changing more instruments than I have even attempted in my lifetime, Julia whips out a trumpet, which amplifies the crowd, creating the soft sways to a slight boogie. Their voices are harmonised to perfection that not only complements each other but gives off a near studio sound. Bouncing between new and old tracks Mango Tree, Who Do You Think You Are and Cellar Door, the crowd are slowly getting more involved as Julia keeps her interaction strong and gives a brief bio of each song being about... You guessed it! Love.
Slowing things down once again, crowd favourite Big Jet Plane and Chateau see the performance to the end, where they come back for an encore of their recent triple j like a version of Drake's Passionfruit and a cheeky Dope Lemon track, Uptown Folks.
There is no denying that both Angus and Julia Stone are multi-talented musicians that both convey dreamy yet unique voices, yet this is a gig that would be made that bit better if it were an all seated or even outdoor venue, where you could be immersed into their lyrical masterpieces that bit more.
