Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle
Thursday May 16, 2013 :
First things first, Emma Louise has absolutely no trouble drawing a crowd in Newcastle. Playing to an almost overflowing Great Northern Hotel (and a few sneaky spectators watching from outside through the windows) everyone was clambering to get a closer look.
Performing crowd favourites such as ‘Jungle’ and ‘Boy’, Emma was totally in the zone, moving in time with her band in an almost trance-like state. And just as you’d expect from her recordings, she has the rare ability to make her voice sound strong, yet velvety smooth at the same time.
Emma pauses to tell the crowd about an encounter she’d had just before she walked on stage, “I promised I wouldn’t tell this story,” she laughs and shakes her head. “Who here believes in ghosts?” she says, and then goes on to detail her experiences with an apparent ghost encounter she’d had just upstairs. The audience giggles in approval and is as captivated as if they were listening to her sing, it makes for a great atmosphere.
Emma Louise was supported firstly by Sydney’s Patrick James, followed by Brisbane’s Thelma Plum, two Triple J Unearthed artists. As a collective the three acts put on a really enjoyable, cohesive night of live music, their musical styles complimenting each other nicely.
Emma Louise is touring in support of her debut album, Vs Head Vs Heart, which was released on the 22nd of March.
Reviewer and Photographer: Melissa Wilson
[nggallery id=72]