The Palais Theatre seemed the perfect setting, the old world charm and elegance of the venue
From the gaggles of young girls hanging out the front of The Palais Theatre you’d be forgiven for thinking you had just accidentally turned up to a Britney concert (does she even exist anymore?). But as I was duly informed on the drive in, and considering it was an all ages show, this influx of the female form was to be expected tonight. For tonight it was Angus and Julia Stone; the brother and sister duo enjoying an incredible amount of popularity at the moment.
The Palais Theatre seemed the perfect setting, the old world charm and elegance of the venue fitting perfectly with their pretty acoustic folk music. Taking their positions on stage, the deafening squeal that followed nearly made me jump out of my chair, again reminding me of just how many teenage girls I was surrounded by. But once the first few fragile notes of Julia’s voice rang out the audience was captivated. And when the curtain behind the pair was lifted, revealing the rest of the band, that’s when the night really kicked into gear.
A tree set to one side of the stage decorated with fairy lights seemed the perfect companion for the music we were witnessing. Simple, yet highly effective. And the lighting effects used for each song changed the mood just enough for you to notice but not take away from the music. And the music itself was pretty much near perfect. One minute we were treated to a stripped-back, heartbreaking acoustic ballad, the next to a more upbeat, rockier number.
And those Stone siblings are certainly two very talented musicians. Between the two of them they played more instruments during the night than most of us could hope to learn in a lifetime. They treated us to a plethora of songs; both old and new as well as a couple of freshly written tracks, and at the conclusion of each song the squeals would again engulf the room, the crowd not afraid of expressing their true love (Angus was proposed to at least three separate times I reckon).
The thing about Angus And Julia Stone’s music is that it’s simple in its delivery, but it has an amazing ability to tug profoundly on your heart-strings. It might be inherent in the beautiful vocals or the pretty chords they use, but whatever it is you can’t help but respond to it in a deep way. And when it’s delivered with such integrity, such beauty, without a trace of ego or pretentiousness like it was tonight, well then it’s simply a joy to witness.
