Australian brother and sister team Angus and Julia Stone wowed an excited audience at Manchester’s 02 Ritz.
On the last day of their European tour, the duo and their impressive band performed songs from their new album Snow whilst also allowing patrons of their music to reminisce over classics – many of which erupted into hearty sing-alongs brimming with emotion.
Engaging with the audience is one of the duo’s many talents, with members of the crowd almost being drawn on to the stage with them as the twosome captured every pair of eyes and ears in the room with their distinctive vocals and dreamy folk sounds.
Full of appreciation for each other and everything they’ve achieved, it was clear to see just how much the pair rely on each other. Demonstrating a truly distinctive relationship whilst also dispelling any rumours of sibling feuds over the years, they laughed, joked and moved the audience together on stage.
Over the course of the evening the duo showcased their never-ending capabilities by playing no less than four different instruments each, with Angus dabbling with a variety of guitars and a harmonica, and Julia playing guitar, trumpets and percussion instruments.
It would be fair to say that although the talents of Angus know little bounds, it was really Julia who stole away the audience on the night as she connected with the room on an understatedly personal and equal level.
Her musical talent is certainly to be envied, as she spent parts of the gig holding a guitar with one hand whilst playing the trumpet with the other, bursting with zest and furore, before composing herself enough to deliver hauntingly beautiful vocals around the room.
Taking us back a couple of albums, the audience were treated to a rendition of Private Lawns from the record Memories of an Old Friend, a performance which included so much musical genius that those in attendance were already brimming with anticipation before the song culminated in a spine-tingling trumpet solo from Julia.
Songs over the evening were interwoven with stories of the pair’s travels, where they both reminisced over the old days, including when they moved to the UK ten years ago and drove around in a beat-up old van playing any gig they could, no matter how small.
While their popularity is certainly strongest in Australia, the duo appeared to have fond memories of days gone by here in the UK, attributing much of their work and success to time they spent touring around the country.
Stunningly mesmerizing would only be one way to describe this evening of utter music joy, and even that would probably be doing it an injustice.
