Live Review: John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins, Stella Donnelly

Tour support, and WA local, Stella Donnelly wraps up her set with huge applause, because of course she does, and we don’t think this will be the last of seeing Donnelly at such an iconic venue. “What an incredible talent that girl is,” co-headliner Missy Higgins later says during her set, and she’s 100% right. 

Higgins gets a big cheer when she walks across the stage to her piano for her hometown show. 

“This set is going to be a little bit more chilled out than usual,” she tells the crowd, informing them that she’s been sick for days (which actually forced her to cancel her appearance at the recent Perth concert). “But don’t worry it will still be good quality,” she finishes laughing. 

She opens with Sugarcane, solo on the piano, before the rest of her band join her on Don’t Ever. She tells the crowd that her mothers' group is here, getting a big cheer from about seven women sitting on the outer edges of the seating. 

Throughout the night, we get a mix of new tracks from her 2018 Solastalgia album and hits spanning her career. Those who have managed to snag a spot in front of the stage happily dance along to Futon Couch and Cemetery, while Song For Sammy, a ukulele track written about her son, is dedicated to her “#mothersgroupgonewild” friends.

“I had someone tell me at the last gig that all I needed is a ciggie and a Berocca,” she croakily tells the crowd. “Ten years ago you might have been right.”

Given how sick Higgins is, her voice holds up incredibly well, only occasionally dropping out at the higher parts of her range. The crowd is more than happy to help out with the vocals though, especially with tracks like The Special Two, Scar and set closer, Steer.

The sound of three drummers is a pretty huge way to start a set, and that’s just how John Butler (and his extended) Trio do it, opening with Inspiration from his '98 debut album, before moving on to Tahitian Blue and Better Than. Three tracks in and Butler is already onto his third instrument for the evening, this time opting for a banjo.

Betterman has an emotionally charged intro before it picks up and gets the crowd dancing. Blame It On Me from 2014’s Flesh & Blood album sees Butler pick up an electric guitar and turn an extended, distorted solo into a jam with rest of band.

“This is the story of my peeps, of my dad, and the shit we’re still dealing with from that 1958 bushfire,” he says before Coffee, Methadone & Cigarettes, after sharing how his grandfather was killed fighting a bushfire in WA in 1958, leaving his wife and eight children behind. It’s a haunting and incredibly personal story, and Butler performs it perfectly.

He tells the crowd that he’s going to play a song from when he was busking in Fremantle, with many in the crowd figuring out what he’s about to perform and pulling their phones out in anticipation for Ocean. People literally jump out of their seats for a standing ovation when it’s over.

Butler's come a long way from his busking days but he's lost none of the ferocity in his performance, it’s easy to see how he’s held onto such a loyal audience 21 years on from the release of his debut album.