Two decades since the release of his Aussie classic album 'Black The Sun', and half a decade since last being joined onstage by a full band, Alex Lloyd silenced Twitter detractors by demonstrating that not only does he still have it, he’s arguably better than ever.
For the diehard Richmond Tigers fan and multiple time ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter, Lloyd's acoustic performance of 'Amazing' at the 2016 Brownlow Medal was one of the few lowlights in an illustrious career, with online trolls cruelly calling it a 'Meatloaf moment'.
As he took to the stage at The Gov on a balmy Wednesday evening (23 October), fans eagerly awaited the first notes of 'Melting', track one from his debut solo release, 'Black The Sun'; which Lloydy would turn up? They had to wait, though; technical difficulties meant the first song of the set was 'Bus Ride' from follow-up album 'Watching Angels Mend'.
Click here to read our recent interview with Alex.
As soon as Alex opened his mouth it was clear that his distinctive voice, the one that is equal parts blues-rock howler and choirboy purity, hadn't aged a day and whatever it was that ailed him on AFL's night of nights three years ago was an unfortunate anomaly.
With the tech sorted, it was time for a rollicking ride back to 1999, and as he burned through 'Melting' and 'Momo', the tightness of the band that Alex had assembled to back his phenomenal voice was apparent.
While 'Black The Sun', at the time, was considered a marked departure from his blues-rock roots, the opening two tracks from the album belie that perception; they rock hard live when backed by live drums.
Singles like 'Something Special', 'Lucky Star' and 'Black The Sun' have been integral parts of Alex's solo set list for the past 20 years and were the first hints of the pop stardom that was to follow with 'Amazing' in 2001. While Alex fiddled around with his vocals a little and mocked his emotional sincerity on 'Something Special', his renditions of these favourites were spot on.
Some of the biggest treats of the night, though, were the obscurities; penultimate 'Black The Sun' track 'Faraway'. Alex said it had never been performed with a full band on stage, owing to some unusual tuning and "weird '80s shit" going on.
Of course, the encore version 'Amazing' saw the iPhones and Samsungs come out for filming. But that wasn't the song he wanted to leave us with. Instead, the night finished with 'Distant Light''s 'Coming Home' and it was appropriate; Alex Lloyd is back where he should be, at home on stage.
