Live Review: Sarah Blasko @ The Tivoli

After shaking it up with her decidedly evolved electronic tinged album Eternal Return Australia’s sweetheart songbird Sarah Blasko set up camp at The Tivoli for her Brisbane stint. Faded tattoos of sparrows and koi peaked out from a good 60% of the crowds weather appropriate clothing which signified we were truly within the over 35 demographic. But as Blasko proved, there is nothing wrong with getting down to a little adult contemporary.

First opener Lupa J was as talented as she was adorable. An excited glint in her eye put the crowd at ease as she sailed through her atmospheric set. A sound deeply rooted in several synthesizers and a drum pad was given life by some expert violin and viola playing. Even when she was undoubtedly nailing her tunes her humble stage presence made her an absolute delight to watch. Capping off the set with a very respectable cover of Radiohead’s Ideoteque Lupa J cemented herself as a proficient artist and definitely someone to watch.

As second opener Jack Colwell took to the stage, presenting himself like a gymnast that had just stuck a landing, there was a twinge of worry for what the set would bring. There’s no doubt that Colwell has skills but no amount of proficient piano playing could outweight his onstage attitude which I can only describe as aggressively pretentious. This situation was not helped by a ego fuelled rendition of The Divynals ‘I Touch Myself’. Bottom line is if your attitude is overshadowing your music it might be time to reel it in a bit.

A soaring tune that allowed Blasko to stretch her vocal legs to absolute perfection

The radient Sarah Blasko took to the stage to a sea of whoops. Looking a little Robert Palmer along with her sharply dressed backing back ( the bassist of said band being sophisticated lover Donny Benet looking unsettlingly professional in a black suit and tie) Blasko wasted no time in launching into her most powerful opening track I Am Ready. A soaring tune that allowed Blasko to stretch her vocal legs to absolute perfection I Am Ready definitely prepared the rapturous audience for what was about to happen. After sailing through a couple more recent tracks Blasko made a smooth transition into her known and loved classics. In quick succession Blasko and band slammed out fan favourites All I Want, We Won’t Run and No Turning Back to the absolute delight of her crowd.

Stripping the stage of all but three Blasko set the mood for Here and delicate piece of music that filled the room despite it only including voice, bass and ukulele. An incredibly intimate moment for a concert that was already abundant in closeness Here just demonstrated that music doesn’t have to be busy to be awe inspiring.

Closing out her main set with the wonder that was Without Blasko humbly left the stage and the experienced crowd cheered and whooped until the gang emerged once more. Kicking off the encore with recent single I Wanna Be Your Man Blasko brought back with her some killer dance moves. Anchored somewhere between Elaine from Seinfeld and your drunk Aunt Julie Blasko’s kicks and shakes somehow made her that much more endearing.

The final almighty roar of I Alive left fire in bellies and smiles on faces as the appreciative crowd had just experienced the wondrous talent that is Sarah Blasko.