Live Review: Dean Lewis, Winterbourne, Eliott

Melbourne-based artist Eliott opened the night with a moody set, featuring her echoing vocals, reminiscent Maggie Rogers and fellow Australians Vallis Alps. Very heavy with bass, her songs were similar in style and, despite the large audience already there, struggled to capture the crowd. Despite the slow start, she ended her set with her newest single, Shaking My Hips, which was a lot more lively and helped to increase the energy level of the crowd.

Winterbourne, aka James Draper and Jordan Brady, followed soon after and instantly increased the atmosphere in the theatre. They opened with Better, which had the crowd swaying and clapping along. The use of a cello in their second song provided a unique sound and an entertaining riff-off with the guitar. It was nice to see that the duo were extremely humbled by the crowd, making jokes with the receptive audience. Their charming stage presence was very much reflected in their music.

Then finally it was time for Dean Lewis to perform, the crowd quiet in anticipation. As soon as the first few bars of Hold Of Me started playing through the room, everyone was captivated. Throughout his set he told the audience the stories behind his hit songs, including how he broke up with his girlfriend six years ago and wrote one of his most popular songs, Be Alright. Stage lights were set to perfectly match the mood. It was incredible to be in an audience that passionately knew the words to every song. The only song the crowd struggled to sing along with was his cover of The Killers’ classic, When You Were Young. This definitely says something about the average age of audience members in attendance.

Lewis humbly described set closer For The Last Time as "the first song I wrote which didn’t suck". The crowd lapped up every relatable relationship quote and charming comment. After returning for the obvious encore with his first single Waves, it was clear that Lewis loved the crowd as much as they loved him.