Live Review: Passenger, The Once

With a distinct lo-fi feel, both Passenger and The Once made a point of refusing to be intimidated by the size of the former Sydney Entertainment Centre.

Canadian trio The Once had something of a Celtic bent but distinct Fleetwood Mac vibe (although all seemed to get along much more happily). The charm set in as they embraced their place and ours: “Thanks so much for coming out and just giving a shit about the support band – sometimes it’s hard to do that,” they smiled between songs.

Passenger arrived soon after with the opener from new record, Rolling Stone, and proceeded to turn the appeal up to 11 as he chatted, crooned and led singalongs for the next 90 minutes. It’s clear he’s a man who’s had to work to win crowds over in the past, gently apologising for the slow ones – “I don’t get asked to play on Friday nights much given how fucking depressing some of my songs are” – and hitting an Australian audience’s love of self-deprecating humour hard, early. “Yes, I know these jeans are fucking tight,” he said after the second song, “I’m too lazy to buy new ones, I know it makes me look like a hipster bird – let’s all deal with it.” Swoon.

The tunes of course were the real test, and in addition to big hit Let Her Go, which he threatened to do a reggae version of to keep it fresh, if necessary, favourites like I Hate, 27 and Underwater Bride all had the crowd held tightly. The slower middle section of Riding To New York, which then developed into his now trademark epic cover of Sounds Of Silence, also did the trick. The encore all-in medley, including snips of Brown Eyed Girl and Dancing In The Dark, seemed to be there “just because they could” – and why not.