Josh Pyke, Emma Louise, The Paper Kites @ The Metro, Sydney (10/09/2011)
Melbourne has always been a goldmine for discovering some hidden gems when it comes to music and The Paper Kites are no exception to this. A quaint 5-piece folk act with lilting gentle harmonies and wispy music. I was a little annoyed at myself for missing the start of their set because the few songs I did hear sounded promising. So long as they can overcome the Fleet Foxes or Death Cab For Cutie comparisons this band can surely carve a niche for themselves in the ever expanding Australian folk scene.
Emma Louise is a genuine, wholesome act and a star on the rise. It was a slightly more toned down affair for Emma’s set with her on acoustic guitar, a bassist, Bree Carter (ex The Middle East) on keys and backing vocals and a drummer astride a cajon box drum. There’s a delicate touch to her songs, a sensitivity that lies underneath their well constructed exterior. During ‘A Thousand Sundowns’ Emma flies solo but unfortunately the exquisiteness of this song was marred somewhat by a good portion of crowd talking. However the set was redeemed, tracks ‘Sandalwood’ and ‘The Storm’ the latter being inspired by the Queensland floods were standout tracks as well as her Triple J highly rotated tune ‘Jungle’ with its addictive drumbeat.
Our hero of the hour belonged to Josh Pyke and the moment he entered onstage and opened with his latest LP ‘Only Sparrows’ opener track ‘Clovis’ Son’ the sold out crowd erupted. Personally I’ve always been a sucker for his more upbeat tracks and ‘Good Head Start’ and ‘Make You Happy’ got me flailing a bit like Peter Garrett, their just so darn catchy.
For the emotive ballad ‘Punch In The Heart’ which on the record he duets with Katy Steele, Pyke enlisted his support act Emma Louise to once again grace the stage. I hate to admit it, but I think I preferred Emma Louise’s more powerful vocals on this track to Steele’s, as it conveyed the sense of frustration a little more intensely. For those who have seen Pyke live before they’d be familiar with his charming onstage banter and jokes, and introducing us to ‘Tapping On A Secret’ which only features on the ‘deluxe edition release’ of his current album he took a slight stab at Kiwi’s and their habit of using ‘deluxe’ as an adjective for anything possible.
The song of the night was ‘Particles’ though, and compared to the recorded version the live rendition had so much more space and room to breathe and expand dynamically. For the encore Pyke pulled out two old tracks ‘Kids Don’t Sell Their Hopes So Fast’ and ‘Silver’ for the fans that clearly had been with the man since his early days. Despite their age, these tracks still hold up well in his set.
Pyke closed the evening with the touching gentle ballad ‘Love Lies’ onstage on his own, and as we reach the closing strains of the song, Pyke uses a loop pedal to loop his own vocals on top of himself creating a luscious set of harmonies and you could’ve heard a pin drop in that room. It’s unusual to end such a spectacular performance on a fragile track but to his credit it works, his notoriety for such detailed songwriting and strong performances are testament to how Josh Pyke consistently manages to sell out performances.
Carina Nilma
Emma Louise is a genuine, wholesome act and a star on the rise. It was a slightly more toned down affair for Emma’s set with her on acoustic guitar, a bassist, Bree Carter (ex The Middle East) on keys and backing vocals and a drummer astride a cajon box drum. There’s a delicate touch to her songs, a sensitivity that lies underneath their well constructed exterior. During ‘A Thousand Sundowns’ Emma flies solo but unfortunately the exquisiteness of this song was marred somewhat by a good portion of crowd talking. However the set was redeemed, tracks ‘Sandalwood’ and ‘The Storm’ the latter being inspired by the Queensland floods were standout tracks as well as her Triple J highly rotated tune ‘Jungle’ with its addictive drumbeat.
Our hero of the hour belonged to Josh Pyke and the moment he entered onstage and opened with his latest LP ‘Only Sparrows’ opener track ‘Clovis’ Son’ the sold out crowd erupted. Personally I’ve always been a sucker for his more upbeat tracks and ‘Good Head Start’ and ‘Make You Happy’ got me flailing a bit like Peter Garrett, their just so darn catchy.
For the emotive ballad ‘Punch In The Heart’ which on the record he duets with Katy Steele, Pyke enlisted his support act Emma Louise to once again grace the stage. I hate to admit it, but I think I preferred Emma Louise’s more powerful vocals on this track to Steele’s, as it conveyed the sense of frustration a little more intensely. For those who have seen Pyke live before they’d be familiar with his charming onstage banter and jokes, and introducing us to ‘Tapping On A Secret’ which only features on the ‘deluxe edition release’ of his current album he took a slight stab at Kiwi’s and their habit of using ‘deluxe’ as an adjective for anything possible.
The song of the night was ‘Particles’ though, and compared to the recorded version the live rendition had so much more space and room to breathe and expand dynamically. For the encore Pyke pulled out two old tracks ‘Kids Don’t Sell Their Hopes So Fast’ and ‘Silver’ for the fans that clearly had been with the man since his early days. Despite their age, these tracks still hold up well in his set.
Pyke closed the evening with the touching gentle ballad ‘Love Lies’ onstage on his own, and as we reach the closing strains of the song, Pyke uses a loop pedal to loop his own vocals on top of himself creating a luscious set of harmonies and you could’ve heard a pin drop in that room. It’s unusual to end such a spectacular performance on a fragile track but to his credit it works, his notoriety for such detailed songwriting and strong performances are testament to how Josh Pyke consistently manages to sell out performances.
Carina Nilma