In the first of two sold out shows, Hozier enthralled Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Tuesday night with a stunning performance.
The drizzly weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the enthusiastic crowd that was unsurprising filled with a hefty dose of support from Melbourne’s Irish community!
It’s rare you hear an artist perform live and they sound as good as they do on a studio recording, but Hozier manages this flawlessly as he performed his catalog of hits. His extensive support band, with their wide ranging musical talents, were crucial in this, enabling both faithful recreations while also enriching the live versions of some of Hozier’s most popular tunes.
The evening spanned his whole catalogue, opening with Da Selby (the first tracks of his most recent album Unreal Unearth) and moving through more new tunes such as I, Carrion and Francesca, as well many of his biggest hits from previous albums including From Eden and Eat Your Young, with of course Take Me To Church being the final song before the encore.
Anyone on the lawn who left early would have been sorely disappointed to hear that once he reemerged for the encore, Hozier relocated to the barrier to perform an acoustic version of Cherry Wine followed by Unknown/nth before returning to the stage for two final duets, ending the evening with a rendition of Work Song alongside his support act Joy Oladokun.
As well as being an incredibly talented performer, Hozier also managed to come across as a genuinely nice guy, whether it’s the profuse thanking of every single person he brought on tour, the Pride flag adorning the stage, or his endearing chatter between songs, I expect 12000 people walked away from the evening liking him even more than they did before.
Keep an eye out here for upcoming live dates
Listen to Hozier’s latest album here.