Reviewed onThursday June 23 (photo by Ashley Mar)
It takes a certain kind of performer to make a venue as grand as the Enmore feel like an intimate get-together. New Zealand expat Luke Thompson is one such musician; a gentle, kindly figure, quietly cooing over sparse electric guitar. He eases the gathering audience into the night’s proceedings with charm and quaint storytelling, his words resonating off the walls with clarity thanks to the respectful silence awarded him. With loud and disrespectful crowds having ruined quiet shows at the Enmore in the past (April’s Daughter show immediately springs to mind), this comes as a very welcome change.
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I Know Leopard have had a run of great support slots, affording them the chance to play huge venues to audiences that would be impossible to draw on their own. That’s just the thing: for all the times they’ve caught the bouquet, it’s hard to imagine them progressing to their name appearing on the marquee. Primarily, this has to do with their own music rather than lack of work ethic. Their harmony-laden indie-pop is pleasant enough, all floating keyboard reverb and heavens-high vocals, but there’s simply not enough to properly hook yourself on.
With the release of Twelvefour, The Paper Kites watched the sun go down on their indie-folk stylings, giving in to the nightlife of slick retro-pop to surprisingly great results. Nearly a year on, the band has chosen to farewell Twelvefour with a twist – a show entitled Midnight, in which the musicians perform as the soundtrack to silent projections, following four separate apartment windows through the quiet mystery of the late evening. It allows some of Twelvefour’s more quiet, refined moments to shine under a new light – ‘Turns Within Me, Turns Without Me’ sees its rich harmonies sink in, while ‘Too Late’ syncs up with an intense two-person dance routine as seen through one of the windows.
Vocalist Sam Bentley lets us know he isn’t going to be talking very much throughout the show. He doesn’t need to – the actions of The Paper Kites speak far louder, anyway. Whether they’re performing in complete darkness (something probably not seen here since that Ryan Adams gig) or embracing the light fantastic via ‘Electric Indigo’ or ‘Revelator Eyes’, there’s something quite special about how this show is curated and executed. Much like the album they’ve been supporting, Midnight is a risk worth taking.
