Live Review: Ed Sheeran, Georgi Kay

3 August 2012 | 9:32 am | Jann Angara

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The young Georgi Kay from Perth stands out immediately in her rock blazer, jeans and Joan Jett mullet, but it's her casual attitude as she introduces each song and her mesmerising, whispering vocals that really command attention. The crowd cheers as she introduces the song In My Mind, a familiar dance hit that has been blessed with her vocals. She's as gentle with her projection as she is in plucking the strings of her travelling guitar, commanding silence as her vocals on the acoustic version radiate across the room.

Faint-worthy screams fill the hall as a cargo-panted silhouette walks onstage. Ed Sheeran gets straight into Gimme Love for his first headlining tour in the country. Despite some high echoing from his vocal mic and slight speaker problems, he continues to jam on his own travelling guitar like a pro. The screaming and heart-shaped fingers continue as he engages with the audience to get them ready for an interactive singalong show. And like good little followers they keep up with every word as he raps to Drunk and UNI. He uses the second mic to loop sounds for some impressive, lengthy self-jams, then takes time to educate us about how his beloved machine works and demonstrates by creating the beat for Grade 8, which he effortlessly mixes into Lil' Kim's Lighters Up.

Sheeran takes “advantage of the acoustics” of the concert hall and instructs the audience to “take a deep breath” and “shhhh” as he creates a simple beat-boxing loop and sings the traditional The Parting Glass in beautiful a cappella. He continues to showcase his vocal ability as the audience maintains their silence for Bump. Between covering Nina Simone, tuning his guitar, sharing drinking stories and giving props to Chris Lilley, Sheeran continues to charm with both his presence and musical talent. He turns the concert hall into a festival as the audience embrace and sway with their neighbours as they sing along to This. He continues to pull at the heartstrings singing Kiss Me through dimmed lights – a song he wrote and performed for his godparents' wedding.

He delivers Leggo House for his last song “until the encore, unless you want to go and watch Game Of Thrones”. And as promised, returns for a rocking 15-minute performance of You Need Me, I Don't Need You complete with guitar shredding, freestyle rapping and strobe lights. The two-hour show – the opening show for his first headlining tour in the country – ends with breakout hit, A-Team, and no one leaves disappointed.

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