Live Review: Conrad Sewell, Avalanche City, Vera Blue

Firstly, Vera Blue graced the stage with her whooping vocal layers which filled the whole room with sweet sounds. Her lyrics and voice settled in the folk genre while her music created a fusion of folk and electronic, mixed with with acoustic guitar melodies and electronic ambience created by the many layers of hallowing beats, harmonies and strong bass. However, the stage seemed empty with only her on it, considering the amount of sounds resonating through the small space of Newtown Social Club.

Avalanche City increased the energy in the room with their pumping set, the band bringing upbeat and catchy folk tunes. At this point the crowd stood up, shaking off the Friday arvo, end-of-week tiredness, getting hyped in anticipation for Conrad Sewell. Voices could gradually be heard from the audience as Avalanche City began their most famous tune, Love Love Love. Judging from their live show, their latest album We Are For The Wild Places is one worth listening to.

The explosive tune and collaboration with Kygo that made Conrad Sewell so well known, Firestone, was the first tune of his Sewell's for the night. With a full band, Sewell demonstrated a strong vocal performance, tunes with great pop sensibility and an entertaining overall stage presence. He skilfully mixed Firestone with Michael Jackson's PYT (Pretty Young Thing) and did a few famous covers in medleys throughout the show. Sewell's falsetto held our attention as he ploughed through vocal runs and strong, belted notes. The tunes were progressive, dynamically charged and motif-based, creating the perfect joyous vibes for the audience to groove to. Sewell got very close to his fans as he moved from side to side, keeping the crowd on their toes. His songs told stories, touching on everyday issues, so the lyrics were easy to relate and sing along to. He is a pastiche of '80s funk and Motown Gospel music at times, clearly stating his inspirations through his music. Towards the end he played his most famous single, Start Again, which earned him a lot of applause and saw many an iPhone set to video mode.