Sarah Blasko’s back, returning all the way from Stockholm, Sweden, and with a third full length release to show for it. Three has proved to be the magic number for Blasko with her third album As Day Follows Night a commercial and critical success upon release. But for all the talk, could the live experience measure up to expectations? As it happened, the first thing I noticed as I entered The Forum was a giant stage backdrop: a painting of a snowy mountain valley, reminiscent of the finest Canadian countryside. It was then, almost immediately, that I had a good feeling about the evening.

El Perro Del Mar, aka Sarah Assbring was to open proceedings, a specialist in lo-fi pop, serenading the building crowd with her acoustic guitar. It was an odd sort of beginning, as the guitar barely made so much as a whimper, but Assbring powered through anyway. Fortunately, with the introduction of a sample-laden MacBook, and an accompanying musician (wielding no-less than a double-necked Gibson) business picked up. Assbring focused her efforts mostly on the vocal component alone, occasionally opting for rhythm guitar, whilst the MacBook and the anonymous Guitar Hero took care of the bulk of the required ambience.

The duo create a surprisingly warm and intricate landscape of sounds, even if the partnership is strongly bolstered by the assistance of an iTunes playlist. Its moody, its subdued, and yet not completely absent of the odd pop-hook – boxes, without doubt, difficult to tick. Assbring falters between songs, her banter largely indecipherable, completely lost on the audience. She is sure to make up for it, however, doing her best to keep things visual and lively, channelling each song’s emotional core into a strange, yet fluid dance. It all comes together as a pleasing set that will no doubt appeal to the Blasko-faithful, but would be perhaps a little better suited to a more intimate venue.

The Forum stage dimmed, pitch black, only to be drenched in light moments later, as colors cycled and swirled in what was a tense, exciting prelude to the headline act. It was clear that it was to be a theatrical evening out. A seven-piece band, including Sarah Blasko herself, assembled on stage, as an audio grab from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory ensued – a tease of Pure Imagination, heightening the anticipation. The clip was faded down, as the opening keys of Down On Love sauntered from the stage. Blasko is revealed to be wearing one heck of a costume, dressed entirely theatrically in a pure white garb, with puffed arms and shoulders. The outfit was a surprised to many, as she looked a little like a character from Blackadder, or even something of a Mechwarrior, with her giant, white shoulder-blades. And yet, she’s clearly so much more, capturing the hearts of The Forum audience with her accomplished, silky voice combined with her sweet, delicate stage-persona.

Blasko acknowledged the extravagance of her appearance with a healthy amount of jest, and continued to spruike the new album. Single We Won’t Run scored a hearty reaction from the crowd, as the seven-piece played with admirable workman-like precision the entire evening, the string section in particular a highlight. All I Want, as if it were taking cues from Western film score, followed with a similar brilliance. No Turning Back marked a significant moment of the night: the drums were blasted, and Blasko’s enormous shoulder-blades unfolded onto her arms, revealing magnificent rainbow frills. Yup: theatrical.

After a couple of dazzling renditions of film tunes, Blasko left the stage, but soon returned (in normal attire) with unfinished business – namely the fact that the entire set to that point had been comprised only of new material. Thankfully, for diehard fans especially, the final third of the night focused on songs from Blasko’s prior releases. The old songs were up there with the best for the night, as Blasko ushered in a greater emphasis on guitars for such songs as The Garden, Always On This Line and Planet New Year. A fittingly epic Explain closed the evening, and the performers took a bow. It was an amazing effort from Blasko and her musicians, and applause continued long after their departure. The lights went up, the house music hit, and yet a vast majority waited behind, still hungry for an encore.

Overall, it was a set that had a definite structure: new stuff, covers, and finally, the old stuff. Its true that Blasko used most of the evening to promote As Day Follows Night in a live arena, but when its performed that well, even the most picky fan is left without a right to complain. Besides, Blasko is undeniably gorgeous. Do I have crush? Quite possibly. A fine offering from one of Australia’s best modern singer-songwriters.