Live Review: Matt Corby, Grace Woodroofe

While the temperature outside hit almost freezing point for Perth (10 degrees or so), there was no lack of warmth, or talent, inside the Astor theatre for Matt Corby's sold out show.

To open the night, the all-ages crowd was treated to a seductive, ambient and astonishing set from the talented Grace Woodroofe. Her husky, angelic vocals filled the theatre with ease for her hour-long set, and her stage presence mirrored that of someone who had been performing for years. With a three-piece band backing her up, and with the beaming beauty even picking up a guitar and rocking out at times, each song was a ballad of its own.

With the end of Woodroofe's set came a rising anticipation Matt Corby. The standing floor became more crowded, and there were very few empty seats in the house. In case you have been living under an incredibly large boulder for the last six years or so, Corby won hearts over as a 16-year-old on Australian Idol. Now 22, Corby is still winning hearts over with his charm, scruffy hair and his distinct soaring folk-inspired vocals.

So like how everything changed when the hand struck 12 o'clock in Cinderella, the room fell completely silent when 10 o'clock struck at the Astor. Corby commanded both complete silence and a combined sea of squealed “awws” and love confessionals, with just a smile in the audience's direction. Beginning the show with no more than a keyboard and himself, Corby lulled the crowd into a sense of comfort and bewilderment with his vocal range, and his award winning smile, that man's smooth charisma and talent could melt the polar ice caps. The set began with a nervous Corby, but with every minute his performance continued, his confidence grew tenfold.

His set featured old favourites such as Souls A'Fire, but also exhibited new songs such as Resolution. Each of Corby's new songs was well received by the audience, and if his unfaltered performance of each new song is anything to go by, all his new songs will do quite well on the charts. Corby interacted suavely with the audience, making jokes every time the crowd “awwed” at something he did. For example, Corby introduced a new track of his as “about a letter I received from a girl who was almost my first love.” With a chorus of “awwws” from the audience, he replied with “I can't say anything these days. Don't do that, it's f***king manly. Love is legit.”

Announcing this would be his last song; the crowd knew he would finish with Brother, his track that featured at number three on the triple j Hottest 100 for 2011. But he provided fans with an encore, teaming up with his keyboardist Bree Tranter for a duet of Big Eyes.