Returning to Adelaide on the heels of their first full length album A Book Like, this brother and sister team Angus and Julia Stone made it a family affair bringing Uncle Steve on tour as well as their friends The Orange Bird as support.

The Orange Bird’s first trip to Adelaide will no doubt be one to remember. Launching straight into Free to Burn their sound is hard to describe. A mix of tribal organic beats mixed with spicy piano laced with folk dub. Clay Macdonald (ex The Beautiful Girls bassist) heads up this tight musical group and he relishes the role of front man. Doing justice to his surname Macdonald, Clay hit the stage dressed in a kilt and socks accompanied by a wild mane of Viking hair, his oddball dress sense was as mish mash as the bands musical style.

It was not their musical prowess that let them down but technology that was their undoing on this night. Using multi layered samples to enrich their sound such as rap and wildlife noises they were lucky if the right sample played at the right time if it played at all. Vocals often dropped out for extended periods and music stands were knocked off stage. At one point the planned epic finish to a tune was left hanging as the power drill that was expected to resonate through the mic left silence until it was discovered not to be plugged in! Clay pretty much summed it up saying that tonight “was the most fucked up gig but probably the most fun!”

Looking like an ethereal princess in her newly purchased powder blue dress Julia and her brother Angus graced the stage with a string quartet to a rapturous applause. In little over a year since Australia was introduced to Angus and Julia Stone their popularity has soared, adding a second sold out show to their schedule to meet demand. Constant touring has produced a polished team with Julia in particularly appearing to be much more comfortable on stage.

The set was nicely broken up with delightful stories told by Julia that made you smile, her sweetness so clear you just wanted to bottle it. Her stories often got more applause than the songs that followed! Angus’ softly spoken unassuming voice was a vast contrast to Julia’s more defined sound that is often similar to Bjork or Johanna Newsom, both siblings had their chance to show their vocal and musical versatility whilst the other looked on often in awe.

Definite highlights included a duet with Jez Mead (The Orange Bird) performing his original song The Devil, a haunting version of Chocolates and Cigarette’s which commanded total silence of the crowd who were mesmerized by the beauty before them and a cruisy jazz version of Chumbwamba’s Tubthumping.

Saving the best till last Julia lead the crowd in an impromptu music lesson teaching us all the chorus of Another Day before being joined by Tour Manager Susie and the remainder of The Orange Bird to bring the night a close with an extended musical sing-along!

Ahhhh if only every book had such a happy ending!