Live Review: George Ezra, Eves Karydas

Australia’s favourite British bass-baritone, George Ezra is back on Aussie soil, taking his hit single Shotgun around the country on his biggest Australian tour yet. Anticipation for the Brisbane leg of the tour is high, with tickets for the Riverstage gig selling out completely.

Opening for Ezra is Queensland’s own Eves Karydas. The indie-pop princess takes the stage an hour and a half after gates open and doesn’t make the crowd wait a minute more, jumping straight into There For You, a recent banger off of her 2018 album Summerskin. Despite the enormous crowd, Karydas seems right at home, dancing around the stage to her electric pop anthems that have taken Australia by storm. After a fun rendition of Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, a song Karydas admits she wishes was her own, she treats the crowd to favourites Damn Loyal and Further Than The Planes Fly to finish up her set.

After a short wait, George Ezra graces the stage to thunderous applause and wastes no time launching into fan favourite Don’t Matter Now, the second track on his acclaimed 2018 album, Staying At Tamara’s, immediately followed by Get Away from the same album. Ezra is backed by a full band, including a lively brass section who add a playful ska element to his sound. While catching his breath after the lively introduction to the show, Ezra welcomes the crowd ("BRISBANE!") with open arms and an excited smile. It is obvious in the way he writes that Ezra is a storyteller at heart, his songs have the ability to paint a picture or a scene in one’s head. This love of storytelling punctuates the evening; with Ezra sharing bits and bobs behind the making of each song and Staying At Tamara’s as a whole. He introduces Barcelona as a song about his time there staying at an Airbnb hosted by a girl called Tamara. The crooning electric guitar in this tune creates a gentle ambience that perfectly supports Ezra’s deep vocals. Joyous tune Pretty Shining People gets the crowd singing along and sees Ezra conducting them in a call and response rendition of the bridge, "Don't we all need love?/The answer is easy." The night continues with a mix of old tunes and new, including Paradise, Hold My Girl and Budapest. The already excited crowd explodes when Ezra asks, "If we play Blame It On Me will you join us for a dance?" The keyboardist abandons his instrument for the song, pulls a whistle and maracas from somewhere and dances around the stage, becoming possibly the most enthusiastic back-up dancer Riverstage has seen to date. To close the night, Ezra treats the crowd to the song of the night, Shotgun, for one last party.

Ezra is a funny, articulate person and an entertaining, enthusiastic performer. With just two albums out he’s managed to make Australia and the world fall in love with him. This scribe for one cannot wait to see what he’ll achieve with a third.