Live Review: Charlie Lim, Allysha Joy Trio, TJ Patrick

TJ Patrick stands at the corner of the stage, guitar in hand and begins on a quiet note. His folk tunes draw the room to a hush as the audience sits on the floor at the base of the stage. The silence is only occasionally broken by the soft clinking of glasses being refilled at the bar. What's an acoustic set without the appearance of a Bob Dylan cover? Well, this one has not one, but two, in a row. A brave choice. Patrick then finishes off with one last original, which he ends with one line of Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On, one line of Prince's The Most Beautiful Girl In The World and John Mayer's Your Body Is A Wonderland. These three songs are not often sung together and a few approving shouts are heard from the crowd.

The super-soulful, slow building intro to the Allysha Joy Trio's set is only enhanced by Joy's use of her earrings as subtle percussion. The trio's ability to move so effortlessly between constantly changing tempos, fluctuating rhythms and melodies is stunning. The instrumental and vocal skill of each member is obvious as their cool, calm and collected vibe makes it seem as if we're watching a casual jam session rather than just an ordinary performance.

The curtain opens. Charlie Lim and his band get straight into their first track. As Lim begins serenading the crowd with the use of a little AutoTune, it's Bon Iver-esque. He almost seems surprised at the size of the crowd and, after thanking his opening acts, Lim gets straight into a few tracks from his new EP, TIME/SPACE. Lim's falsetto is without a doubt the highlight of his performance. His vocal control and clean tone complement his funk-driven tracks; Lim's voice takes pride of place among the array of instruments.

I Only Tell The Truth is an evident crowd pleaser and, after Lim confesses, "You know I like to write sad songs," he takes the intensity down a notch. Next up is a heart-melting guitar solo Lim describes as "cheesy" and "dedicated to John Mayer". Blah Blah Blues sees the band leaving the stage as Lim takes the mic solo, with only his guitar as accompaniment. Most unexpected, however, was their version of Radiohead's All I Need. Joined by his band, Lim's take on this classic is intense and the ultimate climax of the entire evening.

The variation in Lim's set - alternating between slow and fast, heart breaking and happy tracks - is a wonderful emotional rollercoaster. Of course, he draws to a close with Bitter and, after much yelling from the crowd to play one of his most popular tracks, Lim readily jumps back on stage to finish with Pedestal.