Live Review: James Bay

James Bay has well and truly outgrown the acoustic open mic nights of Brighton from whence he came. Balladeering to a sold-out crowd in Sydney with his rocking three-piece band, on the evidence of tonight's performance, the UK troubadour is growing ever more comfortable in front of large bodies, big lights and amplified music.

Here for one night only, Bay played a tight and thumping set, belting out every single song from his debut album Chaos And The Calm. Metro Theatre was brimming with fedora-donned karaokers, pining to sing every emotive lyric back to the chiselled and black-clad songwriter.

He had a guitar for every mood: the melt-your-heart balladry of Let It Go, the bluesy stride of Collide and the pop melodia of Best Fake Smile. He also had a mean guitar face, which he wore with pride during a slew of solos.

It makes sense then that it was when Bay was performing solo, stripped bare of all other instrumentation, that he was most intriguing. The featherlight and blooming likes of Scars and Move Together stood out from the onslaught of foot-stomping material and often cringe-worthy singalongs. And though his falsetto would often falter into a mere murmur, his raw and emotionally-charged growls were something else.

Another standout of the evening was the unexpected and ensnaring cover of Alicia Keys' If I Ain't Got You. Bay and his band laid down their brand of bluesy, soulful spirit for this extended-encore special and swept the audience off its feet.

To no one's surprise, he closed out the set with his best-known, rollicking track Hold Back The River. And yes, it was glorious.

For anyone now suffering FOMO, Bay has just announced a huge 2016 tour of Australia and New Zealand. And there's sure to be plenty more (Bay) where that came from.