Sydney singer/songwriter, Sarah Blasko has improved immensely since her 2002 debut EP Prelusive. Blasko now possesses quite a remarkable stage presence allowing her to fill comfortably the Enmore Theatre’s expansive stage (certainly an admirable feat for an accomplished band, much less a solo artist). In fact, Blasko’s sanguine voice resonates well in the large venue, aided by her new-found confidence exhibited by her jagged, fit-like dance moves.

For all of her irrefutable talents, Blasko was perhaps a miss-matched choice for The Polyphonic Spree. With the majority of tracks from her recent album, The Overture And The Underscore infused with a significant amount of melancholy, some of the singer’s message was lost on the crowd prepared for an evening of joyous abandon as promised by the headliners.

The music of said band is undoubtedly done justice only when performed on a stage as generous as that of The Enmore Theatre. The sound produced by The Polyphonic Spree’s some 25 members is predicably large. Gentle noises are coaxed from a range of instruments including harps, symbols and double-violins, swelling and uplifting the audience, while always skirting the obvious danger of clutter or superfluousness.

More pertinently, it’s quite remarkable that such a large number of people and vast range of instruments are able to be coordinated in sync so perfectly by part frontman, part conductor Tim De Laughter. Certainly the classical training of the band’s members allows all sounds of The Polyphonic Spree to be executed with precision but it is clearly De Laughter’s energy and unbridled passion that serves as the glue. Ensuring all the elements on stage come together, De Laughter leads the group – and indeed the audience – through a hugely intense experience that ostensibly sees the 2000 capacity audience singing along with every line

“Hey! It’s the sun and it makes me shine…”

While on record, the band may suffer from lack of variety between tracks, live this shortcoming is more than compensated for meaning even the non-fan can appreciate their incredibly unique approach to performing. Framed by a banner emblazoned with the word “HOPE”, the band’s members tonight ran through the crowd, hugging audience members before returning to the stage for a memorable cover of Sgt Pepper.

Where most today fail to go far beyond the new-rock blueprint, The Polyphonic Spree excel. The difficulties in producing a sound and aesthetic that is entirely new is undeniable, however the Texan group manage to achieve just that while still avoiding the temptation of adopting a gimmick. Ending the performance with a group bow, The Polyphonic Spree acknowledge their own achievement of making yet another audience all leave the show with an irrevocable smile.