Live Review: Lianne La Havas & Thelma Plum

It's an early start tonight at The Zoo, which could perhaps explain why the crowd is sparse at the beginning of Thelma Plum's set. The hometown songstress is not fazed, and immediately sets to work charming the audience with her sweet and delicate vocals. Her songs carry such powerful emotion and her stage presence is so defined that it's hard to believe this girl is so young! The crowd is delighted when she plays her debut single Father Said, which creates a warm and beautiful ambience in the room. It's hard to see her leave by the time her last track rolls around; Plum has really done a beautiful job of setting the stage for the night.

The moment the 23-year-old half-Jamaican, half-Greek beauty that is Lianne La Havas walks onto the stage, she immediately lights up the room. Joined by a small backing band, she opens up the night with her endearing and playful song Au Cinema. While the smooth and smoky quality of her voice is breathtaking, what really deserves praise is the effortless way in which her fingers are gliding across the frets of her guitar. She couldn't look more at home with her hollowed out 1964 Danelectro Silvertone strapped to her; she plays so naturally that the guitar is really just an extension of herself. While she is not joined by her collaborator Willy Mason for the track No Room For Doubt tonight, her backing band ably assists her with the vocals, and it's still truly mesmerising. The tempo picks up when she launches into her hit single Forget (which is dedicated to her ex-boyfriend), and as she screams out “Forget!” the audience is treated to a glimpse of the power her vocals can exude when she needs them to. Throughout the set she takes us on a journey through relationships, triumphs and breakups; all the while playing with a knowing smile, making her performance all the more appealing.

The quantity of the audience really hasn't improved much throughout the night, making the affair all the more intimate and special for those in attendance. La Havas returns to the stage for her encore performance, kicking it off with Age – a song which amusingly describes a relationship with an older man – featuring only her vocals and guitar. It's on tracks such as this and Gone, where her vocals are accompanied by a single instrument, that she really draws the audience in. Her entire performance is modest and understated. It's rather refreshing that she hasn't loaded up her show with bells and whistles; her songs are so beautifully composed and delivered it would be a crime to add anything more. When it's time to leave, La Havas humbly thanks her audience and promises to return. Those who are lucky enough to have caught Lianne La Havas tonight know that they've really witnessed something special, for if she ever is to return to Brisbane there's no way she'll play a setting this intimate again.