Live Review: Passenger, Georgia Mooney, Stu Larsen

With the stage at the Enmore Theatre unadorned bar a single mic and a few scattered paper lanterns, it was obvious that the crowd was in for a night of unassuming, charming music. Passenger has very much adopted the 'less is more' mentality for his live shows, and by god does it work.

The choice of support acts seemed to fit this mentality perfectly, with both Stu Larsen and Georgia Mooney charming the pants off a crowd who had, for the most part, no clue as to who they were. Larsen's anecdotes about touring and camping on beaches balanced perfectly with his genuine musicianship, especially on songs like Seaforth MacKenzie and newer track Paper Sails. Pianist Mooney, who joked about how happy she was to be sandwiched between Larsen and Passenger on the bill, let her cheeky enthusiasm quickly affect the crowd. Original tracks like Black And Blue exposed both a talented singer and a thoughtful lyricist but it was her simple, mandolin cover of Kate McGarrigle's I Am A Diamond that really wowed the audience.

Then it was time for the man of the hour, who bounced onto the stage with a cheeky laugh and a larrikin smile. Passenger aka Mike Rosenberg's years of busking on streets have resulted in a charming ability to interact with a crowd on a very intimate level. When he told a joke it felt like an in-joke and, when he explained the context of his songs, it felt personal. When he sung about the hopelessness of losing someone you love in Travelling Alone or growing old in David, there was a sense of intimacy felt in the audience. The crowd laughed as he attempted a short cover of the goat version of Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble and sang along to Let Her Go. They got out of their chairs to clap in time as Passenger enthusiastically hammered out Holes and Twenty Seven on his guitar, and laughed along to his tongue-in-cheek I Hate. They were deadly quiet for a breathtakingly beautiful version of My Heart's On Fire, where both Mooney and Larsen came back on stage and interlaced their vocals so effectively with his that it could effectively be described as a perfect collaboration.

It would be surprising if anyone left that show disappointed; it was pure, stripped-down magic.