Arriving at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on a rainy Melbourne evening, our team were excited to once again hear the voice of Brit bass-baritone George Ezra, who returned to Melbourne after three long years.
Supporting the show at the Bowl was merci, mercy – bringing her indie pop tunes from Sydney. We’ve been fortunate enough to catch her more intimate shows, including one at Northcote Social Club, but tonight’s performance was at one of Melbourne’s largest concert venues in front of a packed-out crowd.
Performing alongside band mate Riley, merci, mercy brought all of the tracks from her latest EP is it me, or is it you? to life, as well as sneaking in a few of her biggest hits. Starting with new tracks Too Easy, Sick To My Stomach and Black Cloud, we were all up dancing along as she closed her set with well-known songs Winnie Crush, Into You and closing hit Fucked Myself Up.
Before long, it was time for the man of the hour George Ezra to take the stage. Decked out in double denim, with his Gold Rush Kid jacket from his latest album, Ezra was joined on stage by his extensive eight-piece band. The traveller and entertainer took no time at all in settling in and captivating the crowd; opening with Anyone for You (Tiger Lily), Cassy O’ and Get Away. It did not take us long at all to forget about the weather, and start singing and dancing without a care in the world.
For those who have been to his shows before, the George Ezra experience is much more than just his music and swooning sounds – he’s incredibly charming, and you can easily see just how much fun he is having onstage. George addressed the audience many times throughout the night, exclaiming how it blows his mind to see so many people when they are so far away from home. At one point, he tells the audience, we have ‘new songs, old songs, we’ve got all the songs – everything you want’. And he was right.
The set contained a great mix of tracks from his debut album Wanted on Voyage, sophomore album Staying at Tamara’s and his latest album Gold Rush Kid – the title track which was next up on the setlist. For a Monday night, there were far too many highlights from the show to list them all, but we’ve hand-picked some of our favourites:
- Singing ‘Don’t we all need love? The answer is easy’ in unison with the full force of the crowd for Pretty Shining People
- Phone lights everywhere to be seen during Barcelona – a song based on his travels across the globe
- Did You Hear The Rain? while experiencing some of Melbourne’s finest weather
- A beautiful duet with bandmate James Wyatt for Hold My Girl
- Our favourite new song, Sweetest Human Being Alive
- The instrumental breakdowns and solos in All My Love
- The interesting stories behind Green Green Grass
George reminisced later in the set on a recent realisation of ‘just how much it was making [him] smile to play the older songs’, thanking the crowd for how amazing it was to see them all again.
The last few songs of the night showed us the extensive catalogue that George Ezra has had during his career, with Blame It On Me, Paradise, and Budapest. The encore featuring Dance All Over Me and Shotgun sealed the deal for a perfect night.