Live Review: James Bay

Sydney's State Theatre is an incredibly visually stunning venue. James Bay calls it "elegant". What's clear by the end of the first song is that this show is probably not fit for the State Theatre. One may assume a James Bay show would rely predominantly on the UK songwriter's vocals and acoustic guitar. But, on the back of his Electric Light LP, Bay is clearly looking to get bigger and louder with his music. This is a rock show.

Following a video package of a couple apparently breaking up outside a James Bay show, the man of the hour struts on stage to huge applause, quickly breaking into opening track Wasted On Each Other. One punter about six rows back wasn't going to accept the theatre setting, jumping up from her chair to dance from the get go. Three songs in, Bay tells everyone on the ground level to get up and somehow the State Theatre is quickly transformed into a heaving dance floor. Bay oozes charisma, bouncing around stage as often as breaking into electric guitar solos while the crowd screams every word back to him. Seems he learnt a new thing or two after touring with The Rolling Stones earlier this year.

Clearly still adjusting to the jet lag, Bay says, "No matter how tired or how little sleep you get, when you get to Sydney, it feels fucking real". He tells us he's going to play a lot of new material and old tracks and it proves to be a pretty decent balance. Lead single from his latest album, Wild Love, gets a run early, while the set also includes Pink Lemonade and Bay's current "favourite", Us.

Bay plays the softer moments perfectly too. Scars, Slide and breakout hit Let It Go all go down a treat by the crowd, who don't miss a lyric. Surprising covers of Tina Turner's Simply The Best and Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary are also eaten up from the front of the crowd, all the way to the back. By this point, a large portion of the front section have left their seats and moved to the very front of the stage, almost forming a small mosh pit around Bay. Closing with Hold Back The River, Bay proved a few things and reaffirmed things we already knew tonight. His vocals and guitar skills are second to none, his fans are DEVOTED and he has evolved. James Bay isn't just a talented songwriter who can churn out hits, he is a bona fide rock star.