Ellie Goulding @ Festival Hall, Melbourne (31/05/2014)
Saturday night saw the derelict walls of Melbourne’s Festival Hall revived by the energetic atmosphere of one Ellie Goulding. The English songstress graced the boxing-turned-concert arena, full of liveliness, and the sold-out crowd became enraptured by the bubbly twenty-seven year old.
Accompanied by a full band, Goulding opened the night with full power in Figure 8, from her sophomore album ‘Halyon’ (2012), followed by Ritual, Goodness Gracious and Animal, before giving what the crowd had been waiting for in popular track Starry Eyed, which rose to fame shortly after the release of debut album Lights (2010).
A memory triggered as my ears recalled the familiar vocal melody in Tessellate, originally by English indie rockers Alt-J, and was more than chuffed when Goulding decided to cover it.
An athletic, enthusiastic and humbled performer, Ellie Goulding has an ability to manipulate her vocals in a way that can only be described as admirable. There were vocal runs and trills that left the audience stunned, and myself turning to a friend as we mouthed “wow” simultaneously.
Joined by a very Taylor-Swift-looking acoustic guitar, it was time to chill for two tracks before hearing the highly anticipated Elton John cover Your Song. Not only did everyone know the words and sing back to her, it was quite a significant moment for me – the first Ellie Goulding song I ever heard during the days of fan-girling hard over English pop singers – it was sweetly satisfying to finally witness since its release in 2010.
A fantastic light and sound show, Ellie’s performance was true of its pop genre – even the boys who were blatantly only there because their girlfriend begged them for a ticket were enjoying themselves.
While spirits were at a high, Ellie closed the show with synth-led electronic track I Need Your Love from her collaboration with Calvin Harris and the popular disco driven hit and title-track to her debut album, Lights.
The crowd was buzzing as the lights went out, the essential stamping of feet in desire for an encore was echoing around the entire venue. After a few minutes of the crowd getting restless and louder and louder, Ellie finally returned to stage more seeming more humbled than ever. She chose to officially end the show with You My Everything and what might be her most popular track to date – Burn.
A heartfelt performance by the pop star left me on a high, and my sincere congratulations goes out to Ellie Goulding for being able to not only put a pop show, but an intense cardio workout every night of the week while she performs her sold-out Australian tour. The secret to six-pack is now self-explanatory.
Maddie Stephenson
Accompanied by a full band, Goulding opened the night with full power in Figure 8, from her sophomore album ‘Halyon’ (2012), followed by Ritual, Goodness Gracious and Animal, before giving what the crowd had been waiting for in popular track Starry Eyed, which rose to fame shortly after the release of debut album Lights (2010).
A memory triggered as my ears recalled the familiar vocal melody in Tessellate, originally by English indie rockers Alt-J, and was more than chuffed when Goulding decided to cover it.
An athletic, enthusiastic and humbled performer, Ellie Goulding has an ability to manipulate her vocals in a way that can only be described as admirable. There were vocal runs and trills that left the audience stunned, and myself turning to a friend as we mouthed “wow” simultaneously.
Joined by a very Taylor-Swift-looking acoustic guitar, it was time to chill for two tracks before hearing the highly anticipated Elton John cover Your Song. Not only did everyone know the words and sing back to her, it was quite a significant moment for me – the first Ellie Goulding song I ever heard during the days of fan-girling hard over English pop singers – it was sweetly satisfying to finally witness since its release in 2010.
A fantastic light and sound show, Ellie’s performance was true of its pop genre – even the boys who were blatantly only there because their girlfriend begged them for a ticket were enjoying themselves.
While spirits were at a high, Ellie closed the show with synth-led electronic track I Need Your Love from her collaboration with Calvin Harris and the popular disco driven hit and title-track to her debut album, Lights.
The crowd was buzzing as the lights went out, the essential stamping of feet in desire for an encore was echoing around the entire venue. After a few minutes of the crowd getting restless and louder and louder, Ellie finally returned to stage more seeming more humbled than ever. She chose to officially end the show with You My Everything and what might be her most popular track to date – Burn.
A heartfelt performance by the pop star left me on a high, and my sincere congratulations goes out to Ellie Goulding for being able to not only put a pop show, but an intense cardio workout every night of the week while she performs her sold-out Australian tour. The secret to six-pack is now self-explanatory.
Maddie Stephenson