Live Review

Angus and Julia Stone – O2 ABC, Glasgoow

• 20th Apr 2011

With flowers and rugs all over the stage it was as if Australian brother and sister duo Angus and Julia Stone were making themselves at home in Glasgow. And a warm reception from the large crowd, the gig having been moved from a smaller venue, must have helped too.

First came a very entertaining set from another antipodean musician, blues/ rock guitarist Steve Smyth. Clutching his Fender he strode confidently onto the stage and started playing. The strident chords, played with his fingers rather than a pick, rang out strong and true.

Smyth has the kind of deep voice with a gravel tinged quality that is exactly what might be expected from a denim clad, long haired rocker. But he displayed an impressive range and can hit the high notes too. This was a powerful and entertaining solo performance, especially in the closing No Man’s Land.

The Stones displayed their impressive musical talents with a set that saw them alternate on vocals, seemingly taking a song each. There was no sign of sibling rivalry, apart from when both played new songs and Angus asked the crowd which was better. It was done in humour though.

Julia’s light and dreamy, and at times child like, vocal style perfectly suits the love songs she plays while Angus has a deeper voice that can be softly emotional or provide a harder edge if required. And Julia showed her talents by singing both lead and backing vocals and playing, keyboards, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and trumpet – and that was in the first three songs!

The set started with Julia at the keyboards backed by her brother on acoustic guitar. The ethereal Hold On was beautifully delivered, Julia’s face displaying the emotion of her words. Angus then took the lead for Black Crow, a soft ballad, before it was Julia’s turn once more. And so the pattern for the night was set.

The set list was thrown out of the window early on, as Julia in particular seemed to react to the many suggestions shouted from the crowd. This led to several confabs between the two principles as they worked out which of their many guitars to play and who from the backing ensemble of bass, drums and cello was required. But they arranged things with an accomplished air that meant the delays were minor and easily forgiven.

There were several highlights in a fine night of music. And The Boys had a slightly more rocking feel that the single version, while Big Jet Plane featured a harmonica intro from Angus to what is a damned fine pop song.

The cover of James Taylor’s You Can Close Your Eyes was beautifully done and quite unlike the original, while a new song from Julia called For You told of a love who got away in heartbreaking style.

Angus and Julia Stone are undoubtedly a talented pair who have a real chemistry on stage. They have a way of making their differing voices work well together and the result is a live show that is well worth seeing.