Live Review: Nick Murphy

Walking into the Sydney Opera House on this Thursday night was a lot more mystical than usual.

Sydney city was lit and shining bright for the yearly Vivid lights festival. The venue did not only light up on the outside for everyone to see but also on the inside as Nick Murphy took to the stage. He first entered in a very nonchalant manner, although the minute the music started was when the lights started to flash. There was no ease in for the crowd from that moment as he began with intense drops, loud screaming and flashing bright lights. From this intense beginning, the stage went completely black before he came back in with his popular track, Gold.

For the next tune on the "Chet Faker" journey, he brought us back with his track 1998. He played the original song but amended it with some signature "Nick Murphy" grooves. The new and improved drop glowed with this intense and authentic drum rhythm, which sounded lush with the layered synth sounds. The light box above the middle of the stage kept the audience mesmerised; during every song the light box lit the stage up with new effects. At this point, it was shooting lasers! These lasers reflected onto the wall behind Murphy and his band like a disco ball would, creating this hectic image to match the soundscape for Weak Education from the Nick Murphy Missing Link EP.

It was almost as if the stage sat in the middle of the crowd and Murphy was surrounded by the audience. Even the band made a semi-circle around the middle of the stage, enhancing everyone's view of Murphy. It was like watching a show in the iPhone camera's panorama mode, as when Murphy moved around the stage, every eye was able to follow his funky dance moves and hypnotic vocal rounds. Murphy invited Marcus Marr on stage for their track The Trouble With Us. By this point, everyone was up dancing in the pillars to the catchy guitar riffs and sensual verses. When Murphy danced along for track Talk Is Cheap it was as if his feet were gliding across the floor in his moonwalk-esqe groove. He brought the tempo down for the standout of the show, a track called Driving Too Fast. He managed to mesmerise with his harking falsetto mixed with the silence of only his voice with the grand piano. The build up was spine-tingling as syncopated claps from band members created an erupting climax. He ended with an extended version of Stop Me (Stop You) and although he faced some technical difficulties, he managed to pull through and make a humble exit, leaving the crowd wanting more.