Angus and Julia Stone
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» Angus and Julia Stone - Regent Theatre, The, NSW - June 20, 2008
» Angus & Julia Stone - Thebarton Theatre, SA - June 27, 2008
» Angus and Julia Stone - Forum, The, Vic - June 25, 2008
Friday night saw duo of the moment Angus and Julia Stone play to a sold out crowd at Bunbury’s Prince of Wales.
Support act, the newly formed ‘The Orange Bird’ took to the stage confidently with their rich blend of acoustic folk, rock, reggae, Celtic world music.
Lead by Clay MacDonald (ex- Beautiful Girls bassist), the band also consists of guitar extraordinaire Jez Mead and young talent Aleesha Dibbs on keys. Due to illness, Mitch Connelly was unable to join the band, and New Zealand- born Finn joined the band behind the kit alongside Stephanie on the violin.
Complete with a chequered kilt, MacDonald who appeared onstage bearing a large resemblance to ‘William Wallace’, proved he is a capable leader of the experimental 5-piece act. Clearly at one with his new sound, MacDonald guided the band through the magical sound of ‘Ruby Tiger’s Song’ and cheerful ‘Wise Old Owl’ whereby good friend Stevo Devo accompanied the band onstage with his tambourine.
The strong performance of ‘Gu Yum’ in which MacDonald delivered a rousing vocal presentation and joined Mead to convey a simplistic yet powerful percussion performance, proved this band have a bright future ahead.
The combination of an experienced and gifted Mead, the creative genius of Macdonald and brilliant energy of Aleesha Dibbs confirm this exceptional band have a promising future ahead.
They took to the stage- Angus humbly hiding behind a heavy beard and beneath a grey- coloured hat, and Julia- shining with her captivating smile, rich red lipstick and splendorous emerald green dress.
The stage, decorated with soft lighting and ivy set the mood for Julia to sail into ‘All of Me’. Disappointingly, what would have been a near-perfect delivery was ruined by the unappreciative thundering of an over-capacity crowd.
‘Private Lawns’ provided the crowd with an opportunity to sing along with a lively Julia, while current Triple J favourite ‘The Beast’ received a moderate reception.
With the Stone duo struggling to capture the attention of the unresponsive audience, good friend Jez Mead took to the stage to perform with Julia and Angus ‘Devil’, written by Mead. Despite Julia’s please for a quiet and attentive audience during the performance, the disruptive crowd continued to murmur.
To their credit, Angus and Julia persisted with such a difficult group of spectators. However, they did not prevail. Angus, clearly disappointed, continued to play, hiding under his hat, having no interaction with the crowd.
Angus and Julia also treated the audience to a preview of ‘Suzie Q’, an organic reggae tune featuring citric harmonies and Angus rocking on his electric guitar- a 21st birthday present. The song also features a solid bass line courtesy of Clay MacDonald.
It is plain to see that Angus and Julia are destined for great success, their sound is very palatable. Between their guitars, the trumpet, harmonica and keys, the brother and sister are clearly equally blessed with talent. Also joined by their uncle Stevo on drums, Clay MacDonald on bass and Steph on the violin, the Stones and co delivered a reasonable performance. This is not to take away from the Stones, merely that the wrong venue was booked for their sound. The crowd were disrespectful and aggressive and the few that turned up to listen were prevented to do so as a result of the constant hum during the entire performance.
Angus and Julia appeared for an encore, rightly so. Julia now wearing Angus’ hat and the entire crew and support band joining them. They came, they performed, they persisted.
