Live Review: Sarah McLeod, Danni Stefanetti

In the recent eruption of venues offering live music over the last 12 months, Tetsuo NC is certainly one of the newest openings from the bunch.

The room fit the night's billing effortlessly with local songstress Danni Stefanetti reaching every corner of it and taking many by surprise with a tenderly soft opener of INXS' Never Tear Us Apart. It seems Stefanetti's current recordings simply don't do her skill justice, her prowess on guitar throughout the set was remarkably crafted and lifted a lush tone each time she broke down an acoustic melody. The majority of her tracks - such as Adore, Boys Like You or Woo Me - had a distinct '60s soul pop heart but still flickered through other inspirations such as folk and blues. All of which worked perfectly with the incredibly strong vocal lines she pulls out with a snap. It's slightly confusing to find this talent going somewhat unnoticed with limited exposure, but after a flawless exhibition of her newer tracks, she's unlikely to go unnoticed for long.

With the crowd tightened around the stage riser, Sarah McLeod instantly ignited the night in the way we all were hoping for with her beaming rock swagger. Playing as a duo with Mick Skelton on drums, McLeod used a dual output and pedal array to fill out the energetic stage sound to such benefit that some four-piece bands wouldn't even match it. Her set list might have swapped between her solo records as she went, but it's most recent releases that garnered the best reception. Placing themselves firmly among Sarah's expanded songwriting style, they still managed to keep roots in her Superjesus past. The mixture played unbelievably well live as Giants, Bad Valentine, Wild Hearts and No One Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye each built her performance and appreciation from the floor. Yet, the real show of her strength live came when the set ended, carrying the crowd into the lullaby of Rocky's Reprise, the enormous dynamic change should have toppled against the previous tracks, and was pulled off with bravado and ease to a fantastic finisher.