Live Review: Urthboy, Alice Ivy

13 March 2017 | 2:31 pm | Antony Attridge

"Levinson utilises every bit of the stage and is flawless in his timing."

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The gentle notes of Touch saturate a frustratingly dispersed audience at Corner Hotel. Completely undeterred, Alice Ivy takes the stage like she was playing the biggest show of her life. Beginning the set with accomplice Luy Amiel, the two begin jamming out on electric guitars. Somehow, she finds the time to control and exploit brilliant instrumentals echoing out of the APC40, now transitioning into Paint Me Blue. The solo act sounds like a whole band as she also steps behind the mic. Ivy's music is so inviting that there isn't a still pair of feet in the house. Jumping all over the stage, she's so obviously in love with the music she creates. Suddenly joined by Charlie Threads, the trio belt out new single Get Me A Drink, which, we as an audience can confirm, is a banger. Ivy is brilliantly creative. A multi-instrumentalist so captivating that we're sad to see the set's conclusion.

When Joyride walks on, there's an intoxicating warmth emanating from the One Day member. His tracks portray a level of heartache in contrast with uplifting melodies. "You might notice that none of these tracks are from One Day. And none of these tracks are from The Meeting Tree," he says. "None of them are going to be because these are all tracks from my upcoming new album." The preview is absolutely joyous in its renditions while still maintaining a level of emotion we haven't heard from him previously.

Tim Levinson aka Urthboy has a swagger that exudes both confidence and experience. He's joined by a whole posse of back-up singers and they're welcomed by a mighty roar from the crowd. Levinson's energy is contagious as we join him in chorus of The Arrow, hands stretched for the ceiling. We're now swimming in high energy hip hop. The familiar keys of Knee Length Socks begin and we're transported to old school Urthy. This is one of the reasons why Elefant Traks are so relevant in the Aus music scene. Seamlessly rolling into Second Heartbeat, this set has all the stops and, "There's nothin' [we're] running from."

Levinson utilises every bit of the stage and is flawless in his timing. The only critique one could offer is that we wish his new pack contained original The Herd members. Now joined by power-house woman Kira Puru, Daughter Of The Light takes the show to a completely new height. Hands still bouncing, we're near-breathless when we realise he's not done yet. On comes We Get Around and everyone loses their shit. A final rendition of Little Girl's Dad and we can't cheer any louder. The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat makes for a brilliant live show that demonstrates why Urthboy is one of the best in the game.

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