Perth indie group, Wolves At The Door, were the almighty support act for the night, giving good vibes to the packed out Astor Theatre. Seeming quite at home on the stage, they impressed their home crowd with their echoing guitars and heaving, crashing drums teamed with mesmerising vocals.
The charming and ever graceful Julia Stone arrived right on cue. With no need for an introduction she got right on with it, playing ‘I Tell You’, accompanied by her canny trumpet playing abilities, which add a jazzy element to proceedings.
Stone and her band went on to perform a cover version of The National’s, ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’, bringing a more folky vibe to the song, which went down well with the audience.
Proving to be quite the storyteller, Stone delved into the meanings behind most of her songs, all in some way linked to her seemingly tragic love life. But she reassured the audience that she is more than happy with the men in her life, both past and present, and that these stories seemed more tragic than they were in reality.
After mentioning that “For You” was written about a man she used to love, she went on to play the stunning track, which includes the beautifully lovesick lyrics like,”I’ll make you a star in my universe”.
Stone had some very original dance moves that seem to be somewhat crossed between a robot and Bollywood dancer, but no doubt this added to her unique style and performing persona. These particular dance moves were displayed whilst performing the cover of Grease’s ‘You’re The One That I Want’, in which the audience were singing nearly as loudly as Stone was.
The next song of the night was ‘The Wedding Song’, which she dedicated to a couple in the audience who had written to her before the show requesting it. Stone explained that – approprately – she had written the song for some friends of hers for their wedding day.
The song is wonderfully poetic, with lyrics like “We are gonna build a life together/ you and I forever and ever”, its hard not to get sentimental with such a relatable,nostalgic song.
Before performing the well-known, ‘And The Boys’ she mentioned how she “missed playing with her brother Angus”, before bursting out in laughter and correcting herself. “That sounds a bit sick doesn’t it, I should probably say playing music with Angus”, showing the crowd her great sense of loveable humour.
Toward the end of the night, Stone introduced her incredible band, which included members from Tinpan Orange, The Bamboos, and The Cat Empire, before the heartfelt introduction of her best friend, who also sings backup and is a multi-instrumentalist in the band – what a friendship!
After a brief exit from the stage, Stone and the band came back on to perform an encore of the Fleetwood Mac hit, ‘Dreams’, cranking out her unique dance moves once again to finish the delightful evening.
The show was a pleasant balance between seeing the performing personality of Julia Stone, and gaining a personal insight in to the private life of the performer via her crowd interactions and storytelling.
Stone proved her abilities as a solo performing artist, and established that she is just as talented wether working with or without her bother, Angus.
