Live Review: Julia Jacklin, Jaala

The Metro Theatre was almost filled to its capacity as support Jaala took to the stage. It was a strange but alluring support choice. Her music was so different to that of Julia Jacklin's, with its electronic ambience and her wacky persona to match. Despite this entire exterior, the songs that Jaala played were actually quite sweet.

When Julia Jacklin graced the stage, loud cheers from the crowd encouraged her, although this was followed by a deep silence as she began her tune Hay Plain. Throughout her hometown show, Jacklin wasn't afraid to take the spotlight, as she began her set really intimately. It was just a moment between her voice, her guitar and the crowd. As the band eventually strolled in, she was still the centre of attention, all eyes and ears firmly on her majestic, soulful ditties. The silence so profound, at times you could hear the clicks of the cameras coming from the photographer's pit. LA Dream was another wondrous moment, as she and the crowd sang the hook, "There on Central station / you forced my lips to scream / loving you ain't easy babe / it's just an LA dream".

Her performance ran on a similar theme for the whole set, the songs melding into one. With the band or without, Jacklin seemed to have made a pretty ballsy choice to put her heart and soul on the line. She not only sang the songs, but also managed to bare all of herself in complete vulnerability. The spotlight was always on her, and this is what made the show effortlessly mesmerising. Her track Elizabeth acted as a sort of climax with its harmonies and melodic layering, to make up for the absence of the drums. She seemingly finished with Don't Let The Kids Win - a tune that got the crowd singing along, once again. It almost felt as if we were being transported into an old bar in Texas, drinking beer and listening to sad songs that have a little more pop sensibility than traditional blues. "I can't believe she's from Australia," a boy in the audience echoed, voicing our exact thoughts. She pranced back onto the stage for her track Same Airport, Different Man that was lyrically genius, a thought provoking riddle. To end she exclaimed, "This is my first ever double encore", before playing her triple j Like A Version of Someday by The Strokes. This got the crowd moving their feet, swaying their limbs and cuddling their loved ones before the show came to a joyful end.