Amelia Murray describes herself as a girl in a bedroom on guitar. She has become so much more than that however, as her musical alter ego Fazerdaze has made its way to Melbourne for a sold out show.
Hachiku opened the night with an engaging performance. Her dream pop songs featured soft, soprano vocals with powerful instruments to back it up. Anika Ostendorf, an undoubtedly talented musician and strong performer, sang lead vocals, played lead guitar and the keyboard, often quickly switching between the three. Hachiku’s set shook things up by including a beautiful harmonious cover of Justin Bieber’s Sorry.
Jess Locke began her set with a song that saw her her standing alone onstage. After this opening, she was joined by her band, firing things up and performing songs with lots of energy and momentum. Between songs Locke kept the banter going, cracking jokes with her band and the audience.
Fazerdaze arrived onstage in a cloud of smoke and lights. Murray said she was nervous but it wasn’t easy to tell because she sang with confidence throughout her set. Fazerdaze played songs from her debut LP, including Bedroom Talks, cruising through Take It Slow and giving a powerful but warm performance of Misread. The crowd went wild during a bass solo which made the room vibrate, then Murray pulled out an egg shaker maraca adding to the dynamic of the song – which of course, everyone loved. Murray explained to the crowd how crazy it was that she had been playing and recording songs in her bedroom back home, and now here she was performing live to a sold out crowd in Melbourne.
Fazerdaze kept the best for (almost) last, performing Lucky Girl when energy was at its peak, ensuring the crowd were jumping around and singing along until the very last second. The band ended with Little Uneasy, another hit from the LP, and thanked everyone once more.
Highlight: The calm and happy feelings felt from Fazerdaze’s songs.
Lowlight: Nothing.
Crowd Favourite: Lucky Girl.
