Live Review: James Blunt, Busby Marou

The soft tones and gentle guitar playing of Queensland duo Busby Marou calmed the audience escaping from Sydney's bursting city traffic.
A pitch black countdown began James Blunt's concert at the State Theatre, a decisive and dramatic opening setting up expectations as high as the moon projected on the three-storey screen behind him. Dressed in dark blue (and later grey) jumpsuits, over the course of the next hour and 20 minutes he surpassed expectations. While spaceships, planets and interstellar solar systems were all part of the dazzling visual backdrop on the Moon Landing tour, Blunt's self-deprecating jokes and disarming sense of humour won the crowd over, proving he's very much a down to earth kind of guy.
Rocketing through hits off all four albums, Blunt's voice was strong, enthusiastically singing You're Beautiful with a smile on his face like he'd just written it yesterday, winning further admiration hitting high notes in the song, High.
“This is the Moon Landing tour” he reminded his audience, “that's why we're wearing these ridiculous outfits. We've been to North America, practising on the Canadians, people that don't matter,” he quipped before reminding us how pleased he was to perform in Sydney, then launching into last album instalment, Satellites.  
Content to step out of the spotlight while it focused on his lead guitarist in Wise Men, the stage was all his for the piano-driven Goodbye My Lover.  
Returning in a space suit, his encore performance consisted of Stay The Night, Bonfire Heart and 1973. Vivid was lighting up skyscrapers around Sydney, while James Blunt spectacularly lit up the inside of the State Theatre.