Matt Corby @ The Tivoli Theatre Review

Fans packed in like ravenous seagulls, squawking lustfully as tension built in the moments before Matt Corby’s entrance on stage.

On the second tier of The Tivoli (2 November), girls had abandoned their heels, lining the wrought iron barrier with an iridescent conflagration of reeking shoes. The lights dim, the random selection of iPod music fades away even as the roaring begins and Corby sidles on stage.

Image © Warren Davel

Awe, passion and longing can be heard like three different notes on a scale crashing through the crowd and raising the ceiling an inch with its pure emotion. Corby says “hello”, his voice barely audible through the screeching catcalls of “I love you” and “You’re so pretty”... His response was music.

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Time and memory crept through the faded, red walls of one of Brisbane’s most prestigious theatres, a certain type of class presiding over the venue, a nostalgic hallmark of mythic splendour, ages passed and greatness witnessed.

Image © Warren Davel

Having played at the Brisbane Convention Centre previously, Corby seemed to resonate with the intimacy of the old theatre stage, it seemed to encourage him in his performance, bringing fire and life to the songs we all know and love and stunning the audience into enraptured silence when he showcased his new music.

Opening with 'Monday', as was charmingly appropriate, Corby demonstrated his unbelievable talent with this solo piece of music, seeming to take our breath away and use it to create beauty. Rolling like a thunderstorm and swaying like an easy ocean breeze, his voice hushed over the audience, husky tones imbued with emotion, giving us a small piece of solace and serendipity.

Image © Warren Davel

His voice rumbles in your stomach, a lion growling low in its throat whose intensely stark appraisal stripped my humanity back to primal instinct: fear. Yes, I trembled in my shredded Doc Martens as I listened to his music.

There was power there and I soon lost myself to it, despite the shrieking tweens whose relentlessly vain comments sullied the air.

Written by Jack Harrison