Live Review: Omar Apollo @ Hordern Pavilion

It goes without saying that Omar Apollo has something. Talent? Of course. Charisma? In buckets. Sex appeal? I mean, look at him. But there’s something intangible that makes you unable to take your eyes off him. It’s like that feeling when you meet someone for the first time, instantly become smitten and want to go home with them. 

A mere five minutes into Apollo’s concert at the Hordern Pavilion last night, it was pretty clear that this feeling was rife amongst the crowd. It may have been a cold night, but let me tell you, things were getting pretty hot. 

Last in Australia in 2020, Apollo played a small gig at Oxford Art Factory. By all accounts, it was an intimate show with the makings of something greater. He was an artist built to perform in rooms with triple the capacity. Apollo’s time had come. 

Having just released his second studio album, God Said No, only a few weeks ago, Australia was afforded the veritable treat of being Apollo’s first stop on his world tour. This meant that Australian crowds would be the first in the world to hear this album live. Given this, an even greater sense of both anticipation and expectation permeated throughout the audience. 

Confidently strutting onto the stage holding an electric guitar and wearing the shiniest trousers a man could muster, Apollo already looked the part of one of the world’s sexiest performers. As soon as he started singing, it became pretty clear he would live up to it, too. 

Diving straight into Useless off his 2020 mixtape, Apolonio, Apollo frenetically plugged his guitar strings like it was nobody’s business. A song about being uselessly in love with another, Apollo used his delicious high register to sing “I’m useless when you’re stuck in my mind/ I’ve been foolish think of you all the time” back at the crowd. 

“What up, Sydney?” Apollo then said to the elated crowd before jumping into the sexy grooves of Killing Me. As he sang the song, Apollo appeared to really be feeling himself, even launching into a few Michael Jackson-esque dance moves. He was shining as brightly as his trousers. 

“Sydney, you want that new shit?” Apollo asked the crowd before jumping into Done With You off his latest record. A delectably bouncy tune, the crowd parroted back the lyrics “I’m so done with you, do one with you, done with you, done with you done” as if it were a song as old as some of the attendees. 

The irony, of course, being that the lyrics the crowd the crowd shouted back at Apollo were about being done with him. Because, of course, they were just getting started. You see, Apollo has this unique ability to subtly draw you in and make you feel like he is only singing to you. Only revealing to you the tiny, indented cracks on his broken heart. 

But despite this, it’s pretty clear from his performance that Apollo does not take himself too seriously. Despite his lyrics, which often reveal an ounce of anguish and heartbreak, you can really tell Apollo and his bandmates are just having fun with it. 

At one point, while waiting for a replacement for a broken mic stand, Apollo took it as an opportunity to address the audience. “Y’all know what you’re doing looking at me like that,” a cheeky Apollo quipped through an ear-to-ear smile. 

“Why are you showing a picture of me working at McDonald’s?” Apollo later said through half a snort. “I’m self-made, what can I say. But I still fuck with the nepo babies”. 

One of the night’s most stark moments came just before Apollo started singing Invincible. “We got any Mexicans?” the Mexican-American singer asked of the crowd, to the cheer of a few. “Not too many, then,” he said behind a giggle. We got any gays?” Apollo later asked, to a ravenous cheer from the audience. 

It was here where I couldn’t help but notice how important Apollo actually is as an artist right now. For all communities out there, whether that be queer, Mexican or just someone who likes his music, Apollo is like an older friend that always looks out for you. As he began to sing, I couldn’t help but think of all those he was helping with his presence and, really, just how dull music would be right now if he were not at the forefront. 

Later, the singer brought a surprise onto the stage in the form of Australian singer Ruel singing Want U Around. A welcomed figure, the crowd lapped up Ruel’s brief presence. 

@omarapollosupremacy

Omar and Ruel surprised the Sydney audience and performed Want U around!!! . . . #godsaidnotour #omarapollo #hordenpavilion #omarapollotour #concerts #omarapolloconcert #ruel #foryou #fy #fypage @Ruel

♬ original sound - Omar Apollo Supremacy

As Apollo began to play his viral hit Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All), he had nothing left to prove. Just a heavenly voice contained in one of the humblest yet charming singers in the world right now. 

Apollo later returned to the stage for the encore. Initially supposed to be playing Go Away, Apollo saw a fans sign asking for En el ovido, and he willingly obliged, “Yeah fuck it, we’re winging it tonight”. He then played Go Away as a final digestif for the night.  

God might have said no to Apollo, but based on the faces of the crowd as they dispersed from the venue, Sydney was saying yes, please, give us more.