Jessica Mauboy, Miss Murphy @ Melbourne Zoo Twlight Series, Melbourne (01/02/2014)
Usually I’m more at home in a circle pit than a family-centric evening featuring one of Australia’s biggest homegrown pop stars. However, the Twilight Sessions featuring Jessica Mauboy at the Melbourne Zoo changed my view on pop concerts completely.
Lexi, the Melbourne Zoo employee in charge of organising media guests, was the first indication the night would be an enjoyable one. Telling us everything we would need to know about the evening, she gave us one of the best customer service experiences I’ve had in the media industry. Once inside, the three and a half thousand crowd had almost completely filled the spacious lawn setting within the Zoo, with a wide array of families and couples attending on the warm Melbourne summer evening.
After successfully finding a spot with a view of the now filled stage, support act Ms. Murphy began. After performing on The Voice in 2013, Ms. Murphy has found a comfortable niche, with her soulful tunes befittingly surrounding the luscious Zoo setting.
Whilst walking through the zoo and viewing the animals scurrying excitedly to Ms. Murphy’s full band, it was hard to imagine any other concert providing the same experience. After settling in, the band continued to play a variety of R&B and Soul with Karen Andrews’ alter ego Ms. Murphy continuing to impress the crowd with her range and powerful vocals. After a half an hour set, Ms. Murphy and her band left the stage, catalysing a burgeoning excitement for the main event of the evening.
When Jessica Mauboy jumped on stage to a cheer from the sold out crowd, her band responded with a heavy intro of distorted guitars and crashing cymbals. Immediately, the presence of a live band gave an energetic shot to match Mauboy’s constant movement around the stage. Opening with ‘Up and Down’, Mauboy managed to strike a fine line between innocence and sexual, with her dance moves seamlessly moving between both ends of the spectrum.
Jessica Mauboy effortlessly proved that she is one of Australia’s best vocalists, with every single one of her notes sung perfectly in tune; all of this performed whilst she smiled and ran up to the front of the stage to appease her growing crowd of young girls dancing at the barrier. Continuing through her biggest hits ‘Running Back’, which slowed down the tempo to give the 24 year old a chance to breathe, and ‘Get Em Girls’ which had one of the biggest receptions of the event from the audience, Mauboy continued to showcase why she has just come off a highly successful nationwide tour.
In between changing costumes multiple times during her set, Mauboy handily performed a cover of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Nothing’, and Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’. By the time Mauboy left the stage for her encore, she had performed her single ‘Beautiful’ whilst sounding more incredible than her recorded counterpart; in no small part was this due to her amazing live band and backup singers, who seemed to genuinely enjoy their time on stage.
Returning to the stage, Mauboy and her band performed arguably her two biggest hits of the past and present: ‘Inescapable’ and ‘Pop A Bottle (Fill Me Up) to a bouncing crowd of young and old. As the crowd filtered out, the sounds of the zoo animals were a fitting send off to a highly enjoyable evening at one of the most unique concert venues the city of Melbourne has to offer.
Jonty Simmons
Lexi, the Melbourne Zoo employee in charge of organising media guests, was the first indication the night would be an enjoyable one. Telling us everything we would need to know about the evening, she gave us one of the best customer service experiences I’ve had in the media industry. Once inside, the three and a half thousand crowd had almost completely filled the spacious lawn setting within the Zoo, with a wide array of families and couples attending on the warm Melbourne summer evening.
After successfully finding a spot with a view of the now filled stage, support act Ms. Murphy began. After performing on The Voice in 2013, Ms. Murphy has found a comfortable niche, with her soulful tunes befittingly surrounding the luscious Zoo setting.
Whilst walking through the zoo and viewing the animals scurrying excitedly to Ms. Murphy’s full band, it was hard to imagine any other concert providing the same experience. After settling in, the band continued to play a variety of R&B and Soul with Karen Andrews’ alter ego Ms. Murphy continuing to impress the crowd with her range and powerful vocals. After a half an hour set, Ms. Murphy and her band left the stage, catalysing a burgeoning excitement for the main event of the evening.
When Jessica Mauboy jumped on stage to a cheer from the sold out crowd, her band responded with a heavy intro of distorted guitars and crashing cymbals. Immediately, the presence of a live band gave an energetic shot to match Mauboy’s constant movement around the stage. Opening with ‘Up and Down’, Mauboy managed to strike a fine line between innocence and sexual, with her dance moves seamlessly moving between both ends of the spectrum.
Jessica Mauboy effortlessly proved that she is one of Australia’s best vocalists, with every single one of her notes sung perfectly in tune; all of this performed whilst she smiled and ran up to the front of the stage to appease her growing crowd of young girls dancing at the barrier. Continuing through her biggest hits ‘Running Back’, which slowed down the tempo to give the 24 year old a chance to breathe, and ‘Get Em Girls’ which had one of the biggest receptions of the event from the audience, Mauboy continued to showcase why she has just come off a highly successful nationwide tour.
In between changing costumes multiple times during her set, Mauboy handily performed a cover of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Nothing’, and Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’. By the time Mauboy left the stage for her encore, she had performed her single ‘Beautiful’ whilst sounding more incredible than her recorded counterpart; in no small part was this due to her amazing live band and backup singers, who seemed to genuinely enjoy their time on stage.
Returning to the stage, Mauboy and her band performed arguably her two biggest hits of the past and present: ‘Inescapable’ and ‘Pop A Bottle (Fill Me Up) to a bouncing crowd of young and old. As the crowd filtered out, the sounds of the zoo animals were a fitting send off to a highly enjoyable evening at one of the most unique concert venues the city of Melbourne has to offer.
Jonty Simmons