Vera Blue - Charismatic, Passionate and Graceful
Having attended the majority of her WA shows over the past 12 months, I thought I knew what to expect from her set, but this show was something really special.
Opening to a generous crowd were the first of two national support acts, PLGRMS. Though it would have been nice to see a local act open up the night, PLGRMS certainly did a great job getting the growing crowd buzzing with a set of lush, swelling indie electronic styled tracks. From their atmospheric production, to the warm vocals from front man Jake, they put on an engaging and charismatic show that left many impressed.
After a short intermission, Mammals brought their A Game to the stage. Their Bon Iver and Alt J influenced tracks filled the room with a bubble of sound and a huge rounded bass, and had the growing crowd dancing up the front, especially for their spacey techno infused boogie style tracks. The Sydney band played an eclectic set featuring many tracks from their recently released EP Chase Your Bliss
The room was packed and exuding excitement by the time Vera Blue emerged from the curtains into the spotlight. Opening with a brand new unreleased track, the whole room had eyes locked on her as to not miss a note. Diving straight into her second track, her folk roots shone through, and with some help from her three-man band, her energy and soaring vocals filled all the empty space in the venue.
She of course wasted no time to say hello to and thank the sold out crowd, before getting right back into it with another soon to be released track from her upcoming record. The short acoustic number Cover Me highlighted the beauty and simplicity of her song writing as well as showing off her crisp, warm vocals.
After a quick seamless costume change, Vera and her band brought out some magic in her latest single Private. Her performance was commanding and electrifying as always, but you could really feel the energy and passion radiating off her as she spun around the cosy stage.
The connection that Vera Blue has with her fans is incredibly intimate and special, something that can be hard to come by for an artist with such a huge fan base. It’s built on loyalty and it’s not hard to see with the care she takes to make eye contact with the front row in particular. Because of this, it’s no surprise everyone got on board for a huge sing along to MGMT’s hit, Kids. Vera’s rendition stripped the track right back and turned the packed room into a spine tingling chorale to replace the usual synth hook.
Amongst tracks from her 2016 EP Fingertips, tracks from her yet to be released debut album were frequent, including her next single that’s on the way. Stunning vocal loop samples built on the already soaring vocals from Vera and the full band to deliver a huge, full sonic wave.
Another huge track featuring a dance breakdown got everyone boogying if they weren’t already, and was shortly followed by her huge track Hold to close out the night.
Vera Blue is easily one of the most charismatic, passionate and graceful performers in the Australian music scene at the moment. From the intimate relationship she has with the crowd to her wholehearted, blooming vocals, every performance is unique and something that you will remember for a long time.
