Tom Odell, Haydin Calnin, Melody Pool @ The Metro Theatre, Sydney (02/01/2014)
Catapulting into the new year, the Metro Theatre housed a brimming audience buzzing off their recent celebrations. All were ready for one of the first shows of the year and just as there is a build up during the end of year countdown, the performances tonight adopted a similar approach. Just like a crowd at the Falls festivals, Tom Odell brought an immense amount of energy with the support of the night’s acts, Hayden Calnin and Melody Pool. All three artists dominated their sets, cumulating into a diverse expressive show that received no objections from the crowd.
Firstly Hayden Calnin (or by first impressions, a clean shaven Matt Corby) braved the stage alone with nothing more than his loop pedal and guitar. He may seem to be an easy going man, but once he started it wasn’t only his appearance that resembled Matt Corby. Lacing the theatre with an eerie yet dominating voice he captured the attention of so many young adoring fans. As a man of little words his music really delivers on impact, with a strong emotive trigger behind it. Though only playing for a short time, Hayden managed to leave a lasting impression on the audience, mellowing out the bubbly crowd.
Soon after Melody Pool and her string players floated onto stage, to again continue to somber tone set so far. After having a slight lyrical hiccup in the beginning, Melody enforced the idea of there being an emotive start to the night noting that Tom picked “the two depressing acts” to go on before him. Though Melody touches on similar subjects as Hayden does, she coats her themes in a lighter tone focusing more on delivery.
To offset the depressing nature of the previous artists, a performance brimming with passion and high energy would be needed, cue Tom Odell. Still hyped up after playing at the Falls festival, the small venue size was no deterrent to put on a musically brilliant show. Jumping straight into Grow Old With Me it was finally refreshing to have an upbeat song that left the crowd roaring for more.
During the set, Tom did not need any lighting gimmicks or crazed attractions to keep the night going. The show (without sounding timeworn) was pure rock and roll. The music was a stellar combination of intricate piano work blended with a booming voice that was complemented by smooth backing harmonies. With a single spotlight focusing on Tom for a good duration of the show, you couldn’t keep your eyes away even if tired. For part of the experience was witnessing Tom express his music so honestly.
As a passionate performer, Tom released every expression humanly possible as he’d sore the heights of his range in Can’t Pretend and also withdraw into his element as Sirens was played. As the artists before him, it was clear that Tom is an emotive performer but with such a wider scope there was no fear of being overwhelmed by the contents of his music.
Returning onstage for an encore, the final segment of the show was really geared towards a particular part of the audience, which were the ladies. Deciding to wrap things up with powerful love ballads, Tom elevated the night once more with the crowd constantly screaming at him, to the point the poor guy was thrown off momentarily. With that the night ended with both Tom and his accompanying band looking exhausted but not diminished, they loved putting on a show and the crowd fed off that passion during the whole set. It really was a kick in the right direction for the start of the year.
Scott Singh
Firstly Hayden Calnin (or by first impressions, a clean shaven Matt Corby) braved the stage alone with nothing more than his loop pedal and guitar. He may seem to be an easy going man, but once he started it wasn’t only his appearance that resembled Matt Corby. Lacing the theatre with an eerie yet dominating voice he captured the attention of so many young adoring fans. As a man of little words his music really delivers on impact, with a strong emotive trigger behind it. Though only playing for a short time, Hayden managed to leave a lasting impression on the audience, mellowing out the bubbly crowd.
Soon after Melody Pool and her string players floated onto stage, to again continue to somber tone set so far. After having a slight lyrical hiccup in the beginning, Melody enforced the idea of there being an emotive start to the night noting that Tom picked “the two depressing acts” to go on before him. Though Melody touches on similar subjects as Hayden does, she coats her themes in a lighter tone focusing more on delivery.
To offset the depressing nature of the previous artists, a performance brimming with passion and high energy would be needed, cue Tom Odell. Still hyped up after playing at the Falls festival, the small venue size was no deterrent to put on a musically brilliant show. Jumping straight into Grow Old With Me it was finally refreshing to have an upbeat song that left the crowd roaring for more.
During the set, Tom did not need any lighting gimmicks or crazed attractions to keep the night going. The show (without sounding timeworn) was pure rock and roll. The music was a stellar combination of intricate piano work blended with a booming voice that was complemented by smooth backing harmonies. With a single spotlight focusing on Tom for a good duration of the show, you couldn’t keep your eyes away even if tired. For part of the experience was witnessing Tom express his music so honestly.
As a passionate performer, Tom released every expression humanly possible as he’d sore the heights of his range in Can’t Pretend and also withdraw into his element as Sirens was played. As the artists before him, it was clear that Tom is an emotive performer but with such a wider scope there was no fear of being overwhelmed by the contents of his music.
Returning onstage for an encore, the final segment of the show was really geared towards a particular part of the audience, which were the ladies. Deciding to wrap things up with powerful love ballads, Tom elevated the night once more with the crowd constantly screaming at him, to the point the poor guy was thrown off momentarily. With that the night ended with both Tom and his accompanying band looking exhausted but not diminished, they loved putting on a show and the crowd fed off that passion during the whole set. It really was a kick in the right direction for the start of the year.
Scott Singh