Live Review: Bernard Fanning, Vance Joy, Big Scary

Melbourne lad Vance Joy arrived on stage as the opening act accompanied simply by an acoustic guitar, before he hello'ed the audience and launched right into the first track of his latest album, Emmylou. There was no doubt that his powerful voice and refreshingly shy humility made for a recipe that everyone instantly warmed up to. The admittedly short set was ended via ukulele, perhaps channelling a little Jake Shimabukuro in Playing With Fire, before closing with the still rising single, Riptide, the title of his upcoming solo tour.

Fellow Melburnians Big Scary, consisting of duo Tom Iansek and Jo Syme, though acknowledging the difficulty of being the middle act, tackled it with aplomb. Their autobiographical commentary on the meaning of the names of the songs from their second and most recent album, Not Art, lent a certain extra flavour to the atmosphere that made up for any gaps in enthusiasm from the audience, including confessions to a bedroom wall poster of Phil Collins and getting emotional about the movie, Gladiator.

Despite a career spanning more than two decades, the ex-Powderfinger frontman definitely hasn't lost his punch. The all ages audience in the sold-out theatre agreed that the music had a timelessness to it that not too many can claim. There was enough cheering and wooing from the audience when Bernard Fanning walked on stage with his guitar to perform Wash Me Clean that this reviewer wouldn't have been entirely surprised to see unmentionables sailing through the air.

Fanning reflected upon the remarkable difference between Tea & Sympathy and his newest album, Departures, before he made it to Songbird. The crowd might not have been sure how to take Here Comes The Sadist at first, but as it evolved into echoes of guitar-smashing funk gospel church, a fair chunk would have got up and followed at request. Placing the slower, heavier single, Watch Over Me, second to last was well done, and as the opening bars of hit track, Wish You Well, came on it was as if permission had been given to the crowd to let all their energy go at once; they just exploded with enthusiasm. The passion was carried right through to the choice to close with a cover of George Harrison's What Is Life.