The xxIf you closed your eyes, you could easily be forgiven for thinking you've walked into a rainforest as Sydneysiders Jagwar Ma kick off their time on stage. It's only when you open them that you remember just where you are, and Festival Hall is filling up nicely for the night's entertainment. It doesn't take long before the band's mostly indistinguishable vocals drift through a wash of layers, loops and beats. They bring the house down, literally. Well, part of one of the roof speaker stacks, at any rate. Thankfully, it happens above a vacant area backstage. Jagwar Ma's mix of soundscape-y music and washed-out vocals actually works well, with just the right amount of life pumped into them. While it clearly takes a more refined ear than this reviewer has to differentiate between their tracks, their brand of baggy music is most definitely one of the best around.
The stage is set up in a way that accurately represents the The xx: vast and minimal. Jamie Smith (better known as Jamie xx), Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim keep the full house waiting for 20 minutes, but all is forgiven the second they step out on stage and an extended intro into Try begins. The band are clad in black and, with some extensive and incredibly bright back-lighting, they often dissolve into the shadows. It is incredible just how much room such minimal sound can actually fill. Heart Skipped A Beat elicits a gigantic roar and the song is executed beautifully. The mixing tonight is perfect and for such quietly-spoken people Madley Croft and Sim's vocals are amazingly strong live. With a gentle, “How's it going, Melbourne? This is our biggest Australian show to date, so thank you so much,” Sim endears himself and his band to the room even more before they quickly head into an exquisitely slowed-down version of Crystalised, which induces goosebumps.
One thing tonight's show confirms is that the band members are not aloof. Reserved, yes, but icy, no. Furthermore, they're extraordinarily polite, and the few times Sim and Madley Croft do speak, it is with great warmth and sincerity. The band's performance is nothing less than perfect, with only one very small slip from Smith where he gets the Islands intro wrong and has to stop and start it again, much to the crowd and his bandmates' amusement. If you thought The xx couldn't get better than on their records, be sure to catch them live.
