The people began to mill early. Clearly, Sydney was desperate to get its folk on tonight. And with perfectly good reasoning. The delightfully irresistible brother and sister duo, Angus and Julia Stone, are a mere few hours away from playing within the hallowed walls of the Enmore Theatre – and the crowd was gagging for them from the get-go.
So much so, very little attention was paid to the Stone’s somewhat odd choice of a support act – Mexican harpist, Victor Valdes. Now, please don’t get me wrong, the man can play a daaarn impressive harp. It’s an implement rarely seen on the live gig circuit, Joanna Newsome excluded, naturally. Valdes is sweet and charming, possessing fingers that fly swiftly and effortlessly between the chords of his ivory instrument. It’s not too difficult to see why Julia Stone fell so in love with his unique sound, and had to have him on tour. It is something within itself, that the completely solo Valdes manages to give us angelic re-workings of classic Latin-inspired tunes, such as the forever-associated-with- Strictly Ballroom, Perhaps, and perpetual crowd-pleaser La Bamba.
However the room is simply too cavernous for his sound. Valdes would be a marvellous act to experience within a smoky jazz club, where the atmosphere is intimate enough to hear wine glasses clink. His gorgeous efforts unfortunately seem far too stark here. It was hard to gage whether the beer swilling crowd were non responsive due to disinterest in his musical stylings, or because they were merely impatient for the main event to begin. If a pretentious comment heard outside during the break is anything to go by – “I’m soooo hanging out to see these guys, THEY’RE BRILLIANT!! I’m just not into opera Mexican arts, man” – it’s a little bit of both the former and the latter.
After I negotiated my way through a cigarette break, a virtually permanent red re-entry stamp and the fringed masses – The Family Stone finally took to the stage. Against a whimsical, ever-changing coloured backdrop (complete with a cut-out of a sleepy white elephant), Julia, Angus and co hit the divine floor running. Flanked by their splendid ‘guest’ bassist Clay Macdonald, and their tight as two coats of paint drummer Mitchell Connelly, the siblings can do little wrong. They even make 19th century Swedish troubadour apron dresses, hobo hats and excessive amounts of facial hair (Angus…not Julia) look fitting and chic.
Beginning their set with Paper Aeroplanes from their 2006 EP Chocolate and Cigarettes, it’s worth noting that while their act has certainly progressed over the past two years – these guys have always had something special about them. The first truly magical track of the set quickly spellbinds the crowd – Wasted from their 2008 debut album A Book Like This. It’s a simple, dreamy sounding number, and the crowd takes Julia’s lead by imitating her trademark swaying, sashaying – and loyally chanting along, of course.
From there, the duo engaged in a seamless trombone, slideboard, clarinet, keyboard and guitar swapping bonanza, displaying their splendid musical versatility throughout the set to the awestruck masses. There is a definite sweet intimacy in the way Julia and Angus interact – one will often gaze at the other before beautifully harmonising at the end of a song. Angus sings a lovely little London-inspired ditty called Horse and Cart alone on stage with his sister, encouraging the audience to participate as he would be “more than happy if you’d whistle along”. From there, they continue to delight with fan favourites and indie hits such as Julia’s lyrically jaded Hollywood, and the Angus-crooned Silver Coin – a tune that has all the ladies in raptures. Julia describes their new song For You as a piece “I wrote for a boy and sent over the internet”. Lucky boy he is too – lyrics include “If you love me I’ll make you a star in my universe” – all against a backdrop of a serene hanging moon, and yes, mobile stars.
Highlights of the night included the sombre, melancholy and beautifully crafted tracks Soldier and Another Day (Victor Valdes and his harp joining the duo for the latter), the booming kick-drum and harmonica solo filled Mango Tree, and perhaps most surprisingly a new reggae influenced track named Susie. It certainly divided the crowd’s interest – however for mine, they seem to have succeeded with breathtaking ease. Ending the night with arguably their most well-known song Just A Boy brought the loudest and most enthusiastic applause of the evening. Unfortunately it was accompanied by the lowering of two truly petrifying dancing marionettes – modelled in Angus and Julia’s likeness, right down to the hat and plaits. By the encore, a respectful, breathless veil of silence settled around the theatre for The Beast – well, mostly. Even the sweet, lazy melodies of a highly respected folk act can’t keep some over-excited bogan catcalls down. A very amusing amount of “shuuussshh-ing” and tutting then ensued.
Regardless, we all filed out of the Enmore relaxed, serene and positively floating. Following Angus’ advice to “fly safe and be well” was never as easy as this.
