Well don't you just love a short week! I've loved it that much that so far I've got my days mixed up! Yesterday I was reminding myself constantly that it's Tuesday not Monday & now I've finally realised today is Wednesday & definately not Tuesday! Anyway I've realised that my post is a day late but I do hope that everyone has had a lovely long weekend! Mine was very relaxing if not completely relaxing as I purposely booked myself in to do nothing. My public holiday was spent lazily lying in the sun with lunch on a picnic blanket near the seaside. I even got the opportunity to see a pod of whales leaping through & splashing in the ocean - such an amazing experience! The long weekend couldn't have arrived at any better time, the rest was well needed. Along with the long weekend came with it what we all have truly loved & missed - longer days, warmer nights & just a general brighter outlook. Time to shake off those Winter blues as Summer is now truly on its way!
Last Tuesday night my mate Sherri & I went to go see Angus & Julia Stone at the Enmore Theatre & the gig was absolutely dazzling! Shez & I did what we always do best & went somewhere good for dinner first before hitting the show. We went to our old favourite haunt Happy Chef in Newtown & settled with some noodles & cider before making the short walk to the theatre.
We wanted to check out the Support Act Ruel who was performing at 8pm after hearing that the artist is only 14! Then Angus & Julia Stone would hit the stage at 9pm & boy were we in for a treat! Ruel for his age has the most incredible soul vibe & professionalism, his voice was smooth & deep, he sounded soulful & well beyond his years! His set was purely stripped back with only a few backing RnB beats & with the addition of his raw voice he had the crowd in the palm of his hands. Having not knowing much about him, our minds were truly blown as his gritty voice got into the corners of our own souls, he sung as though he had done this for years & had many stories to tell of pain, love & soul. Definately made me question what I was doing with my life at 14 that's for sure!
Ruel; not the greatest of pictures from my side of the stage as there were many lights on him
As the applause quietened down as Ruel left the stage & the lights went up again it was a good few minutes after stage setup that the lights of the Enmore Theatre dimmed once again - this time to the delight of the audience. Cheers & woos were heard across the theatre, this crowd tonight was a variety of ages & walks of life & quite a free spirited & bohemian crowd to add. Then the brother/sister duo Angus & Julia Stone slipped onto the stage to applause & cheers as the last time they played together in their hometown Sydney was 2014. They started with "Baudelaire" & interesting fact I didn't realise that they were both players of the trumpet! as Julia belted out a one handed trumpet solo throughout.
There was a mix of tracks delving between their latest album "Snow" & their older albums. The songs from their newest album were "Make it Out Alive", "Wherever You Are" & "Nothing Else" which I will get a proper listen to when I buy their album. I guess the dilemma with artists that have been on the music scene for years is that the number of tracks outweigh the amount of time an artist is usually on stage so there were a few old songs that unfortunately didn't make the cut ("Mango Tree" & "Just a Boy" especially but for all I know they may have been overplayed in the past). They also played their latest single "Chateau" which got a sing song from the audience (cue favourite line: "I can get fucked up on absolutely anything")
Also given how long it has been since Shez & I got a chance to see Angus & Julia Stone (7 years) the tear jerkers especially for me were "Big Jet Plane" & "For You" which always get me every time. They also played their main song "Snow" & let an amazing amount of glittery white fake snow fall from the ceiling of the theatre which surprisingly I thought would be their encore song. They then left the stage after "Snow" & returned back on stage under a single limelight. Might have been my hearing but I believe they asked the audience to pick any song & Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" was chosen/played. They then finished the show with a track from their first album "A Book Like This" & to my absolute delight it was "Soldier" which is such a sweet ditty. Seriously such a talented duo.
Angus & Julia Stone jammin'
Given the theme of this week's post it seems only appropriate to share with you the incredible voice of Ruel so wrap your ears around it below:
Ruel is only 14 & as everybody has been stating he has a skyrocketing music career ahead of him, especially with a voice like his beyond his years. Keep an eye on this artist as this teenager is literally in Year 8 at school & like I said I'm still trying to go over what I did at the age of 14 - amazing. He was discovered by LA based Australian producer M-Phazes when he was 12 years old & since then for the past two years has become his musical apprentice. Earlier in the year he was a featured vocal on M-Phazes debut single "Golden Years" & assisted in performing it through Triple J Like a Version making Ruel to also be the youngest ever performer on the radio segment. WOW just WOW
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did & all have a fabulous rest of this short week!
Cheers
Amy
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