Reviewed onFriday January 29
Incredibly, although lightning had struck Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower with a deafening boom only hours before, the rain held off entirely for this peaceful summer evening with Josh Pyke at Taronga Zoo. Pyke played old and new classics and welcomed an audience of families to the first show touring his latest album But For All These Shrinking Hearts.
To start the night, Central Coast duo Winterbourne brought energy and rhythm to their indie-folk tunes and did a strong job of pepping up a relaxed audience with clapped beats and warm harmonies.
Though Josh Pyke has been around the live scene for a while, with five studio albums under his belt, he announced this was the largest headline show he’d ever performed. It took a couple of songs to warm up the audience in the space, but the great thing about the wide outdoor stage was that you could enjoy the concert your own way – either relaxing on the grass with a picnic and friends, or up close and personal by the stage singing and dancing. Pyke’s acoustic tunes provided the perfect atmosphere for both.
Live highlights from his new album included ‘Hollering Hearts’ and ‘Still Some Big Deal’, which a lot of the fans were already singing along to, while ‘Middle Of The Hill’ and ‘Leeward Side’ were classics that got even more people dancing. It was a big set of hits, which brought to light just how many songs Pyke has written that have a strong connection with his listeners – particularly with his poetic lyrics that even made it onto items at the merch stand.
Though there were a few technical difficulties and little slip-ups along the way, Pyke’s friendly sense of humour kept the audience at ease and moved everything along smoothly. But what only added to the enjoyable evening was the fact that Taronga Zoo had the event running like a well-oiled machine. With barely any queues for food, drinks and bathrooms, streamlined transport options to and from the venue, and plenty of room to sit and enjoy, the whole night was a relaxing package.
Pyke gave the audience a quintessential Sydney summer evening to help kick off the Twilight At Taronga series, and with a string of talented performers coming up, it’s the place to be for a relaxing night of music.
