Client Liaison – A Night of Divine Intervention – Livestream

October 26, 2021 ~ nataliehannan ~ Leave a comment

During the final weeks of lockdown in Sydney, “Divine Intervention” came in the form of Client Liaison and an electrifying global livestream event. Hosted on October 2nd, Client Liaison celebrated the release of their second studio album with a performance that COVID-19 couldn’t cancel. That’s the beauty of livestreams! The Australian pop duo, consisting of Monte Morgan and Harvey Miller, were joined by their band, and collaborated with the livestream platform Moment House.

The process was much like what I experienced when joining Halsey’s global livestream event. Moment House encourages fan interaction with the chat feature available during the countdown to the concert, as well as during the performance. One fan from the UK was excited the time difference enabled them to enjoy a “morning disco” while all the Aussies were tuning in from 7:30pm!

An additional feature I adored this time around was the merchandise shop, enabling ticketholders to buy Client Liaison merch bundles, all from the comfort of their own homes – and without a queue! It was a great way to further support the duo and make the experience feel akin to attending live music events.

Client Liaison performed a 50-minute set, “welcoming us to heaven” and utilising neon lighting to illuminate a stark-white set, and a truck that housed the duo and their band as they made their grand entrance. A heavenly, ethereal influence was evident during the livestream, as tall Greek-like pillars lined the performance space in what appeared to be a circular form. The “stage” setup – only a small box to give height amongst the band, was centred, complimenting the camera that intimately followed the band and regularly circled around the space.

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The livestream took place within the first 48-hours of the new album being shared with the world, which added to the intimacy of the event. Hearing “Intervention” and “Strictly Business” performed live especially excited me, as I’d been listening to the new tracks in the lead up to the stream. Weaving in songs like “Elevator Up” and “Champagne Affection” also highlighted the duo’s strength in creating music that carries heart and soul, yet a fun energy, with the 80’s synth and dance beats flowing through each song in the set.

Client Liaison nail the line between sexy and soulful, especially evident when the saxophone comes out. The duo and their band weren’t afraid to dance, to move and even show off Monte’s outfit changes throughout the show. Fan favourite tracks “World of our Love” and “The Real Thing” were saved for the end of the set, with the livestream concluding after the band performed “House of Holy”.

The event was the perfect accompaniment to a Saturday night in lockdown, igniting joy and hope. At times, the livestream felt meditative, with Client Liaison leaning heavily into the “Divine Intervention” theme to accompany their aptly titled album. It provided the perfect amount of escapism and mindfulness, with lyrics like “let this be your remedy” and “with fire inside, in search of hope, remember this, you’re not alone” more relevant and comforting than ever.

At times, masked crew members were visible – a reminder that the world we know it, despite being a “World of our Love”, is navigating through a pandemic that has had a significant impact on the music industry. The livestream served as hope for the future – a future when we’re all dancing in a crowd as Client Liaison perform on a stage that is radiating love and light.

Livestreams may not be “The Real Thing”, but they sure as hell are the closest thing to a gig we can get at times, and they’re worth the ticket. Even as the world continues to open up, as live music makes a return, I highly recommend supporting your favourite artists and enjoying any livestream events they host. It’s always exciting to see their creativity shine on screen, and it’s unique to experience an intimacy, to performances, plus comfort, that you can only experience at home.

Setlist

1. Club Called Heaven
2. Elevator Up
3. Off White Limousine
4. Intervention
5. Champagne Affection
6. Strictly Business
7. Groove is in The Heart (cover)
8. World of our Love
9. The Real Thing
10. House of Holy

@dualipa has always been the one 👑 it's been so special to see you blossom as the superstar you are 💫 from a room of a few hundred in Newtown Social Club, to a sold out arena last night in Sydney. I love you, your music, and can't wait to see you live again soon! 💖💖💖 #DuaLipa #FutureNostalgia #FutureNostalgiaTour #BeTheOne

Harry Styles is the future of live music and Harry's House is the place to be 💫

I'm constantly in awe of @bts.bighitofficial - their talent and ability to unite fans globally 🧡💫

Can't believe it's been 4 years since I last saw @harrystyles live in Sydney and captured these videos on my camera 😍

ARE YOU READY TO BE HAPPIER THAN EVER!? 😍🔥

ARE YOU READY FOR HARRYCHELLA ROUND 2!? 😍🔥

COUCHELLA - when you're not physically in the desert, so you enjoy Coachella via livestream from the comfort of your couch 🎉💃

Spacey Jane bring Sunlight to The Enmore Theatre

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 ~ nataliehannan ~ 1 Comment

The sun is finally rising after the live music blackout we experienced in 2020 due to COVID-19 and Spacey Jane have been at the forefront of the live music scene’s revival.

Off the back of releasing their debut album ‘Sunlight’ (which was released during the pandemic and still managed to score #2 on the ARIA charts), Spacey Jane embarked on a national tour of Australia, with 2021 dates in high demand across every state.

The Perth band managed to sell out a six-show run at The Enmore Theatre in Newtown – Sydney, Australia – with more fans being welcomed through the doors of the iconic venue as COVID restrictions continue to ease.

Fortunately, I scored tickets to the final night of their historic Enmore run, and it was a euphoric experience from beginning to end!

Spacey Jane are one of the most captivating bands I’ve seen perform live. The liveliness of Caleb Harper, Ashton Le Cornu, Peppa Lane and Kieran Lama is downright infectious. After opening the show with ‘Skin’ the band soared through their setlist and didn’t leave any corner of the stage untouched – jumping and high kicking their way through the 80-minute set.

‘Good Grief’ and ‘Weightless’ were standouts, garnering huge reactions from the audience before the energy levels increased tenfold as the Perth band teased an unreleased song, due to be released next month, before playing ‘Straightfaced’, ‘Head Cold’, and ‘Booster Seat’ back-to-back towards the conclusion of the set.

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After chants of “ONE MORE SONG!” erupted amongst the fans, Spacey Jane returned to the stage to deliver, matching the electricity in the crowd with their own excitement to be on stage – or not on stage, since Caleb Harper and Ashton Le Cornu eagerly jumped into the front row to perform parts of the set!

Their encore consisted of ‘Thrills’ and ‘Good For You’, which concluded the show on a high and utilised every ounce of production value the stage had been equipped for.

The impressive production and lighting was complemented by the recent renovations the venue has received. During the COVID lockdowns of 2020 (and consequently, the live music blackout) the Enmore restored side-wing balconies as extra seating options for the audience. The refurbishment also included a makeover of the theatre’s roof – now featuring art deco designs and LED lighting that reportedly, can be synced with the stage production.

Whilst this didn’t act as part of the band’s production on Wednesday evening, the atmosphere in the Enmore was electric

If you’ve missed the energy of the crowd, a Spacey Jane gig is the place you need to be. The fans that filled the Enmore were lively, albeit a little rowdy – with vape smoke filling the air and a loudly, proudly sung chorus of ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’ by Abba acting as the perfect pre-gig warm up. Their eagerness to sing every word as Spacey Jane performed their debut album was enough to induce goose bumps.

Spacey Jane are leaving an array of warmth and light in their path as they finally experience the full level of appreciation that their fans have for them. It had been a long time coming, seeing Space Jane perform live at The Enmore Theatre. A long time coming for myself, and fans, but also for the band themselves. COVID-19 outbreaks and associated restrictions saw concert dates being postponed regularly, before more bad luck struck the group as lead vocalist Caleb Harper lost his voice, forcing more tour dates to be rescheduled upon doctor’s orders.

It had been a long time coming…and it was well worth the wait.

After COVID made the absence of live music the norm, walking into The Enmore Theatre felt like coming home. The iconic venue has seen the likes of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan… and even Harry Styles (with Stevie Nicks in attendance!) take to the stage in front of a full house. The six-show run Spacey Jane booked at The Enmore is impressive, reminiscent of Gang of Youths’ roaring success with their own six-show run at the venue in 2018.

Caleb referred to this, revealing that when the band first arrived in Sydney from Perth, they roamed the streets of Newtown and saw the tour posters promoting Gang of Youths’ upcoming gigs at The Enmore. He said it was in that moment the band discovered the beauty of the venue and their desire to perform there in the future. And that they did!

There’s no doubt in my mind that Spacey Jane will return to The Enmore, or easily sell out even larger venues in Sydney during their next lap around the sun. After all, Spacey Jane encompass everything their debut album projects – sunlight. After a year without live music, without dancing…Spacey Jane brought the sun and chased away any dark clouds lingering post-COVID. They reminded everyone in that room, including myself, of all the dreams we are yet to achieve, all the fun still to be had.

I can’t wait to see them live again soon!

To see more from Lovers of Live, check out the most recent articles and live music content on Instagram!

Yours and Owls 2021

April 20, 2021April 21, 2021 ~ nataliehannan ~ 3 Comments

Music festivals are back baby!

Yours and Owls 2021 will go down in history, marking the return of music festivals on a scale that has not been seen in New South Wales, Australia since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The two-day event which took place over April 17^th and 18^th, celebrated its temporary home in Thomas Dalton Park, Wollongong, hosting approx. 14, 000 music lovers in a COVID-safe manner.

What does a COVID-safe festival look like? A little like this.

Yours and Owls 2021 was classified as a seated event, ensuring the social distancing guidelines as imposed by the NSW Government could be adhered to. To further protect attendees, the festival was divided into four zones, a capacity of approx. 3500 people in each, with state-of-the-art staging constructed in the centre.

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To ensure all attendees had prime views of the performances, two stages were utilised – the “Yours” stage and the “Owls” stage. Performances were staggered across both, alternating by the hour. It made me nostalgic for Big Day Out, which adhered to a similar setup, proving to be effective. What was unique about the Yours and Owls setup was the function of the stages. Each stage featured rotating mechanisms, ensuring every angle of the festival, and crowd, could be played to. This was necessary, given the layout of the zones.

Despite being classified as a seated event, attendees could roam their zones to enjoy the food vendors, bars, and local “Rad” stage.

Most importantly? Dancing was given the tick of approval from the NSW Government in the weeks leading up to the festival. This made the weekend incredibly fun…and chaotic. Unfortunately, (and somewhat understandably) being restricted to socially distanced rows of seats is not the ideal dancing layout for festivalgoers. Countless people packed into the aisles and front sections, creating mosh pits during performances and essentially, throwing all social distancing rules out the window.

These actions resulted in multiple sets being interrupted and effectively, cut short by as much as approx. 15 minutes, whilst organisers took to the stage telling everyone to return to the seats.

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Saturday was particularly frustrating in this regard, with every set of the evening being interrupted for this reason. The crowd would patiently wait for others to find a seat, only to witness hundreds of people run right back to the front and flood the aisles as soon as the performances resumed.

People were not PEACH-y keen on this experience. If you know, you know.

With organisers announcing that the future of the festival could be in jeopardy if subject to more chaos, it was a relief to find that Sunday was far better controlled, and performances were not victim to such frustrating interruptions.

Performances from Cosmo’s Midnight, DMA’s, Lime Cordiale and Hayden James were standouts, with almost everyone in sight on their feet, or standing on their chairs, dancing, and singing their hearts out. Despite Winston Surfshirt and The Smith Street Band experiencing lengthy interruptions, their performances were also crowd favourites.

Tones and I naturally worked up a frenzy of dance monkeys as she performed her global smash hit of the same name and after teasing a surprise, treated the crowd to a beautiful firework display to close her set. What So Not and PNAU were the perfect closing acts for their respective nights, concluding the festival on a high.

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Despite the COVID-safe layout of Yours and Owls and the chaos that followed such restrictions, the festival experience was still exciting and euphoric.

It was simultaneously a sigh of relief, and a breath of fresh air. Personally, it marked my return to live music. Experiencing the absence of concerts and festivals for 14 months, due to COVID-19, felt soul crushing. It also made me experience intense waves of gratitude throughout the entire duration of Yours and Owls. I have a feeling, judging based on the reception of the crowd, I was not the only one. It was a magical weekend, and a much-needed reminder of the power of live music.