It was a wet yet unpredictable Friday night. Inside the den of the iconic Chippo Hotel, normally you'd expect the audience pit to be empty as the venue is known for their rock and metal shows. Instead, there were chairs scattered like you're watching a showcase of multiple performers. This differs from all the shows I previously went to so far at this iconic Sydney venue.
To start off the show was Sara Berki, who had a very bubbly personality and attitude throughout her acoustic set. Though, her serious facial expressions thanks to her high notes juxtaposes to her smiling face whenever she interacts with the audience, which makes them feel connected to the show. Although she performed entirely solo, it left us audience open to interpretation on how the harmonies would sound, which is evident when she sang "Good Enough". Her cover of "When It Rains It Pours" by Luke Combs had the crowd very engaged and was a major standout, even before she was to sing it as soon as she mentioned that he would be touring Australia in August 2023. Hence, "Drinking For Free" is the highlight of her set, which highlights her unique songwriting abilities as she "really put (her)self into that kind of character" such that "I've written it from a bit of a secret alter ego".
As soon as headliners Zac and George went on stage, literally the entire audience were cheering on loudly. While they both sat on stools throughout their set, they emphasised the importance of their upcoming song "Bar Stool". Best best mates since high school, they jumped right into their set as soon as the cheering volumed down. During their set, I got to understand how each of their song was written; for example, "Jump Right In" was recorded from their bedrooms in the middle of the pandemic. Their occasional eye contacts they make to each other shows their natural chemistry they have towards one another. Hence, they show very delicate vocal articulation and harmonies for each and every song.
What grabbed my attention from their set was that half of their setlist contains covers which relate to bar stools such as "Man Made A Bar" and "This Bar", both by Morgan Wallen. Thus, these songs led to more than half of the audience singing along with them. Thus, during one of their songs, Sara Berki accompanied them on vocal and harmony duties, which gave me and the audience a special treat. Hence, their encore of "Red Wine And Roses" had Zac and George standing up for the duration of the song, which juxtaposed to when they were sitting down the whole set. Also, the whole crowd were passionately singing along to it.
With their successful headline show, their unbreakable chemistry is set to reach new heights and legions of fans.
Comments