Live Review: Ben Howard, Nick Mulvey

An excellent time was had by all last night at Ben Howard’s Enmore Theatre gig. All but the 30-odd people who were duped by a man named ‘Gavin’, anyway. It seemed they’d all purchased copies of the same ticket on Gumtree, so while the rest of us enjoyed the show, they spent their night congregated out the front of the theatre, making statements to the police. Lesson learnt here is, kids, don’t buy fraudulent tickets off Gumtree. And ‘Gavin’ – you sir are an arsehole.

Inside, Nick Mulvey was kicking off the night, the laidback, English musician with his guitar in hand, playing, among other songs, Juramidam, April and Cucurucu. The crowd, which consisted mainly of cool, surfie types, swayed along as his genius instrumentals and catchy hooks resonated through the theatre.

After a hefty wait, Ben Howard strolled onto the stage a fashionable half-hour late. It’s hard to imagine what kept the scruffy blonde haired surfer, dressed down in casual jeans and a white T-shirt, but when he did eventually appear on stage the crowd erupted, quick to forgive his tardiness as he struck his first chords.

His soulful voice, exquisite musicianship and shy, understated persona all touched a nerve that left the crowd in a silent, motionless trance. It wasn’t until he played The Wolves, however, that the crowd amped up, chanting, “Love, love, love” in unison. Keep Your Head Up was another crowd favourite. A disappointment of the night was that he didn’t play Old Pine, despite the crowd begging for it, while the highlight was undoubtedly when a lady stormed the stage and grabbed Howard, kissing him all over his face, before being chased by security and throwing herself off the stage into the crowd – hilarious.