Ben Lee

Walking in late to be greeted by the sounds of support act SPARKADIA, I kicked myself for being too much of a girl and doing the fashionably late thing. These four boys from Sydney with thier pop-infused rock were good damn it! Their big sound had the crowd moving in their own, "I'm too cool to look like I'm actually enjoying this" way and they earned a decent cheer from them at the end of their set. Their sound and strong one-off moments from the keyboard, drums and guitars ensure that their songs will be memorable and may just make their way onto a commercial station - excuse the dirty word.

Shrouded in the mystery of a black makeshift stage entrance (or emergency exit I guess), waited Ben Lee while his band started setting up for just long enough to get the girls screaming. Jumping up and looking chirpy he greeted his trademark flower-adorned stage dripping with as much romance and peace-loving as a predominantly female crowd could take. Beginning with songs like 'No Right Angles' and 'Whatever it is', Ben explained that some of his latest offerings were about "not having a backup plan", the imptetus behind this train of thought coming from a grandmother who still thinks he needs a day job. The title of his 2005 album release 'Awake is the New Sleep', certainly seems to sum up his attitude at the moment. Delivering a performance that was gentle, honest and animated - Ben was certainly coming from a place of comfort and peace. His touching performance of 'Apple Candy' was truly heartfelt and highlighted the tender way in which he strings his lyrics tohether. With pockets full of flower petals and becoming more playful, Ben dedicated a song about being bruised by love to his fleeting moment with David Hasselhoff at the ARIAs.

Ensuring an expectant crowd got their wish, the band rattled through 'Cigarettes Will Kill You' and the ridiculously overplayed 'Catch My Disease'. An encore brought Ben and his strikingly beautiful and talented pianist Lara Meyerratken back for a couple of acoustic duets that included a rendition of friend Missy Higgins' 'All For Believing'. The quietness of this revealed a strength in Ben's voice that often doesn't come across in his recorded music.

To pick up the pace and end the night on a high, the band was invited back on stage to charge through the affirming 'We're All in This Together'. The crowd delighted in an impromptu groove with Ben as he weaved his way through them mid-song and his parting advice to all, "love each other" was genuine even if it was sickly sweet. In the words of Ben Lee, "home is where there is an open door" and I certainly think that in that room on that night, he found just that.

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