Metro Theatre, Sydney
Thursday November 1, 2018 :
SAFIA spend a lot of the time on the road, but it has been a long time since the powerhouse trio have set out on a headline tour, instead supporting acts such as Twenty-One Pilots in recent years. To celebrate the release of their new single and upcoming album, however, they’ve hit the road once again, this time as the headline act. The first leg of this tour was at The Metro Theatre in Sydney, and the band made sure that this opening performance set the standard for the tour to come.
Triple J Unearthed favourite, Genesis Owusu opened the show, bringing his unique blend of jazz and hip-hop to the stage. The young rapper, awaiting what is sure to be a massive breakthrough performed his set with experience well beyond his years as he transitioned between genres with ease.
By the time SAFIA exploded onto the stage, the Metro was packed. The crowd showed their delight at the band opening with some of their well-known hits, following along with every word and transforming the mosh into a single mass of dancers. However, the third song was unknown to the crowd, and there was visible confusion, and audible discussion as to whether it had been released or not. Once people realised that this was a premier from their new album there seemed to be a slight air of boredom and impatience for the band to get back to their known tracks.
Throughout their performance, front man Ben Woolner and the other band members made their way around the stage, moving from one instrument to the next, showcasing their multiple talents. Each pre-released song was met with the entire crowd singing and dancing along. However, I couldn’t help but feel the songs, which derive so much power from the quality of the vocals, fell just a little flat as soundcheck had left the vocals ever so slightly drowned out by the rest of the mixing. This was largely made up for by the energy which the entire band brought to the stage, an energy which the crowd fed off and reciprocated.
The band’s new single, “Starlight” has been a favourite of mine since it came out, to the point where I found myself dancing to it barefoot in my backyard one night. This sentiment seemed to be shared by the entire crowd as we provided the first few lines of the song when Woolner’s mic wasn’t bringing his vocals across.
Although the crowd was enraptured with the songs that they had known and loved before the concert, I was a bit disappointed with their apparent lack of interest in the premiers that were delivered. On a few occasions during the performance of their new songs, the nuances of the songs were drowned out by the crowd chatting to each other. I was able to enjoy the new songs despite this, but I would have expected the fans to be more excited to get the first listen to new music.
SAFIA finished their set with more of their super popular hits, which by the end, had everyone in the theatre, including the band, soaked in sweat from jamming out to the music. Despite less than ideal sound mixing and a crowd that seemed more into their hits than the band themselves, SAFIA smashed their first headline show in years, delivering an energy to their performance which made it one to be remembered.
Reviewer : Vivienne Wells
Photographer : Sean O’Reilly
