Live Review: Lisa Mitchell w/ BUOY & Dean Lewis @ Woolly Mammoth
Lisa Mitchell has entered intimate and electrifying musical territory with the tracks on her latest album ‘Warriors’. Armed with her amazing band and two superb support acts, she gave the crowd gathered at The Woolly Mammoth’s Mane stage last Saturday night one hell of a show.
First support Dean Lewis took the stage to an already strong and steadily growing crowd. His casual look was a match for his raw, emotive sound – think Ed Sheeran in an upmarket jeans and shirt combo. Call My Name packed depth and complexity together, his voice quivering with emotion, while his twitching during Waves brought a sense of authenticity. The only downfall was the abrupt endings, stifling that satisfying ring and ripping the audience from a delicate reverie. A natural alternative to the likes of Hein Cooper and Riley Pearce, Lewis branded each number with his uniquely emotional lyricism and passionate performance.
Next to take the stage, BUOY wasted no time beginning her set, building each track from the ground up with unshakable confidence. She got into the rhythm so naturally that it seemed she could have easily left the crowd behind and floated away. Her voice was perfectly delicate and sweet, interspersed with moments of sharpness, and as she spliced up powerful belts with breathy lines and virtuosic piano lines in her second number, it became clear just how much control she had over the song. As she danced, she somehow managed to make even moonboots look delicate.
Throughout Exit BUOY stared wistfully into the crowd, her soft vocals soaring over the playful synth melody. The dissonant piano chords both confused and captivated while the repeated lyrics became almost hypnotic as they reached into the stratosphere. Finishing with Clouds And Rain got people dancing at last, and unexpected spots of silence in the midst of the gravelly synth kept them on their toes.
From the onset of her opening number Warhol, Lisa Mitchell had the crowd singing, screaming, and all things in between. As she stripped off her guitar and launched into The Boys, a sense of freedom shone through, allowing her distinctive vocals to shine. Old favourite Coin Laundry had the whole room soaking up the quirky vibes and it engendered a passionate response from Mitchell, who doubled over to belt out the high notes. She looked at her most content swaying as the crowd sang along with gusto, and suddenly pitch seemed irrelevant, buried by the joy of the moment.
Mitchell had a distinctive way of dancing about the stage that always managed to look cool, a performance style that lost none of its charm throughout Pirouette. She stood almost statuesque as the song began, allowing the beauty of the melody to work its magic. While some amongst the audience closed their eyes and swayed, others threw their heads back and forth to the infectious beat.
Just when it seemed the night had reached a peak, Mitchell brought Buoy back to the stage for a stunning duet performance of Josephine, their harmonies stealing the spotlight with no trouble at all. As Mitchell announced the customary pre-encore last song, the crowd cried out in protest, but it wasn’t long before she was back to finish things off with Love Death X and Clean White Love. It was a strong finish, Mitchell smiling from the stage as a few hundred voices filled the room.
Mitchell’s delicate vibrato and falsetto never lost their magic throughout the set, shining brightest against the bare canvas of her guitar alone. There was no doubt by the end of the show that Lisa Mitchell had, with a little help from her incredible band, captured the hearts of her Brisbane fans.
Read our interview with Lisa Mitchell HERE, and our review of her album ‘Warriors’ HERE
Check out our full Photo Gallery from her Brisbane show HERE
