Live Review: 2Cellos

A sweltering hot day melted into a balmy summer night as the sun set over the Belvoir Amphitheatre on Saturday evening and dusk enveloped the eager crowd who had turned out in droves to Swan Valley for the highly anticipated first leg of 2Cellos' Celloverse tour.

With a flare for breaking genre boundaries, 2Cellos bring instrumental classical crossover up to speed with the contemporary and have been inspiring musicians and music lovers alike around the globe with their unique fusion of high-energy instrumental chaos weaved from their weapon of choice: cello. Expectations were high among restless punters and a palpable buzz of anticipation churned through the swelling crowd as it hit 7pm, the lights dimmed across the hushed amphitheatre and 2Cellos took to the stage, immediately kicking the night into high gear with a mesmerising rendition of Benedictus echoing out across the valley.

Playing a set jam-packed with pulsating covers from the new album as well as other crowd-pleasers from their back catalogue — spanning from Michael Jackson to Nirvana — 2Cellos, alongside a guest spot by their lightening-fast and charismatic drummer, enthralled and delighted the crowd under the stars for the next two hours with their dramatic and super-charged, cello-fusion wizardry. With a setlist including songs such as With Or Without You, Mombasa, They Don't Care About Us and Smells Like Teen Spirit, highlights from the night also included some quintessential Australian classics from our beloved AC/DC such as Back In Black, Highway To Hell and, of course, Thunderstruck.

The stifling heat aside, Belvoir Amphitheater proved to be the perfect venue for such a whimsical evening of superb musical talent. The sound was excellent, the energy was intimate and the vibe was second to none. By the end of the night, the crowd had well and truly been whipped up into a frenzy. Eager to bask in the electric atmosphere, most had abandoned their seated stations dotted around the amphitheatre to swamp the stage area below.

Overall, the 2Cellos ooze European class and charisma and will inspire, bewilder and appeal to the young and the young at heart with their magical soundscapes. An absolute must-see for any live music connoisseur! Colour me impressed.