Gig Watch: Angus and Julia Stone

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Angus & Julia Stone sing songs of sorrow and joy

A distinct element of make-believe, of whimsy, permeates Angus and Julia Stone’s live performance at The Forum tonight.

There’s the stage decorated with fake clouds, and alternating throughout the set, a sun and a moon, both with faces.

There’s Julia’s country-bumpkin white dress, and her playful, child-like twirling.

There’s Angus’ barely audible, breathy speaking voice, which is somehow endearing.

There’s the fact that the drummer is their uncle; a pretty family affair.

And there are the stories between songs, one about Angus learning to play trombone, another about Julia’s love interest who is apparently oblivious to her feelings.

It’s the completeness of their personas, the nice guy and gal, the story-book lives, that captures fans’ imaginations. I get the impression that a big reason why these two are so popular is that through them fans can believe in a lovely, romantic existence for themselves.

So given all this, it perplexes me as to why the Stones played at the Forum of all places. They surely do not suit such a large venue, both in terms of acoustics and atmosphere.

The Forum is a big hall, and acoustically it behaves like a big hall. Warmth of sound is difficult to achieve in such a large space; most noticeably the top notes of Julia’s voice were somewhat shrill, and I felt that this impacted the effectiveness of the show. The silences that are meant to add to the poignancy of the songs are either filled with unintended reverberations from the previous note, or the chatter of the large audience (annoying).

But my biggest concern with the gig, by far, was the lack of intimacy that the venue provided.

Angus and Julia are the kind of band whose songs are heart-felt, and I don’t think I’d be sticking my neck out too far if I proposed that a cosier venue would’ve enhanced the overall experience of the show. But that’s the conundrum for a pop-folk band; with a sizeable fan base to satisfy, as well as a full on touring schedule, sometimes atmospheric sacrifices have to be made so as not to leave hundreds of fans disappointed at missing out entirely. At any rate, I doubt ninety-four per cent of the crowd even noticed the venue’s shortcomings; it’s easy to overlook these things when your favourite songs are being played.

So that brings me to the part of the show that Angus and Julia can actually control: the performance of the songs. And they didn’t disappoint.

Silver Coin, Another Day, Paper Aeroplane and Here We Go Again were the highlights, the ones that elicit the most rapturous applause from the adoring audience. The execution of the entire set is magical, a performance that is at the same time delicate and lively, relaxed and tight. Julia’s trumpet playing, and the trombone by Angus, is sure-fire crowd-pleasers, probably because it adds to the aforementioned perfect persona of the artists- of course they can play the trumpet/trombone/harmonica/piano.

This was an enchanting show for the fans of the Sydney pair, one that left no stone unturned in fulfilling any and all expectations held by their audience.

If you were unfortunate enough to have missed out this time, despair not, Angus and Julia Stone look set for a long, bright career- they will be back. Make sure you get there next time round.

Angus & Julia Stone enchanted the Melbourne audience with their music at The Forum

Overall: 85%

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