Every time I hear a Josh Pyke song I am immediately transported back in time to endless replays of his 2007 debut album Memories and Dust. It got me through the torture of many high school bus trips. So, as you can imagine, to see him live in concert for the first time in Canberra on Saturday night was nothing short of a dream come true, and the performance definitely did not disappoint.
The show commenced with a supporting performance by indie pop artist Banff. Having heard some of the tracks from his debut EP Future Self on Triple J Unearthed I knew that the audience was in for a treat. The Brisbane artist and his band proved the perfect teaser for what was to follow.
A crowd of young and old united in applause as Australia’s favourite acoustic storyteller hit the Canberra stage for the first time in a number of years. Pyke kicked off his set with Book of Revelations, exhibiting the joyful-yet-downhearted lyrics that the singer has become known for. The track set the scene for his fifth studio album But For All These Shrinking Hearts.
The audience were captivated by Pyke’s performance. As I looked around the theatre many were mouthing the lyrics, laughing along to banter in between songs and bopping along to every track. The atmosphere was amazing and I’m sure that anyone dragged along to the performance was converted to becoming a huge fan by the end of the night.
Josh Pyke’s solo career has stretched out over a decade and he expressed his genuine appreciation of living his dream every day by thanking the audience for being a huge part of making that dream become a reality.
When Pyke announced the last track he also noted “I want to do that walk off and walk back on thing tonight.” So, to no one’s surprise he returned on stage for an epic encore performance, especially delighting the die-hard fans I was sitting next to…
On behalf of them and the rest of Canberra, Josh Pyke, please come back again soon!
