Live Review: Big Thief, Daggy Man, Feeding Fauna

A small, bookish crowd has gathered early upstairs at The Foundry this evening, eager to witness American folk-rock band Big Thief's first headline show in Brisbane. There's a sense of anticipation and quiet excitement emanating from the huddle of audience members dressed in dark greens and blues, sporting brown leather shoes and an assortment of various tote bags.

Despite being a Wednesday night, it's heartening to see people have turned up to hear Louise O'Reilly begin the night's musical proceedings with songs from her latest post-pop project, Feeding Fauna. She stands alone on the stage, strumming a cream Stratocaster as she performs stripped-back versions of her songs. "This is the saddest song I've ever written," she says as an introduction to 50 Million To One, before picking up an omnichord and adding, "It doesn't go like this on my disco record." It's a spellbinding performance capped off by a song called I've Been Living In The Headland Too Long, for which she puts down all instruments and dances along to the backing track with some new wave dance moves.

Thomas Calder, who performs under the stage name Daggy Man, has almost the opposite stage presence. His songs have titles like Terrified, A Lazy Kind Of Pain, and Suffer Through The Bleed, and his affected style of singing seems to come from another place. Between songs, however, he's charismatic and warm, and his brand of self-depreciating humour provides a welcome contrast to his sensitive, if at times a little overwrought, songwriting.

The room is bustling with crowd members by the time Big Thief enter the stage, performing as a three-piece tonight. While guitarist Buck Meek's presence is notably absent, drummer James Krivchenia and bassist Max Oleartchik support singer-songwriter/guitarist Adrianne Lenker on songs like Masterpiece and Paul with the subtle back-up vocals that Meek usually provides. We're treated to Parallels and Shark Smile early in the set, although Lenker seems reserved until she starts performing new material a few songs in. That's when she really comes alive.

The intensity of her singing during unreleased song Shoulders is enough to send shivers up one's spine as Lenker paints a portrait of inter-generational trauma, singing, "The blood of the man who killed my mother with his hands is in me, it's in me, in my veins." It's one of her strongest songs yet, and the fact that the band's new material feels this discerning and emotionally precise is a testament to Lenker's songwriting.

There's little interaction with the crowd between songs, although fan favourites like Real Love and Mary have the audience filling the time between songs with appreciative applause, to the extent that the band return for an encore after Mythological Beauty to perform another new song called Terminal Paradise. While Lenker has mentioned that the band has been on tour for over six months, they've given us something to remember for at least twice that amount of time, after which we'll hopefully be seeing them again.