Gregory Alan Isakov and his musician band of best friends translate sound into communion. They bridge notes and emotion, they connect memories to melodies.
If there was a way to take sound and turn it into a tuning fork to the divine, Isakov and his band have found something incredibly close. His music meanders through the entire scope of the human experience and the imagery in his lyrics paints vivid mental pictures in your mind.It is why his latest tour has completely sold out and there was a lengthy queue of fans waiting patiently to get inside for his Brisbane concert. On Saturday night (27 January), in the darkly-welcoming Tivoli, Isakov played to a sold-out crowd of devoted fans.
In a two-part set, with an interval in between, they captivated from the moment they stepped onstage to their rousing finale.
The set lighting was moody, well-loved rugs were scattered around the stage and an array of instruments placed around the stage were waiting to be picked up. In a way, it looked like the band were simply coming to play a jam session in someone's living room – with the addition of a huge crowd of spectators.
Onstage, there was a drummer, a violinist, a bass player and a pianist. However, it appears as though all of Isakov's band members can play almost anything as they switched between instruments constantly.
Isakov opened with 'Before The Sun', a single from his new album 'Appaloosa Bones', as he strummed his banjo and crooned to the crowd.
Throughout the night, he played songs from all parts of his discography – from his oldest albums to his latest – taking the crowd on a beautifully-curated aural journey. Crowd favourites included 'She Always Takes It Black', 'Amsterdam' and 'San Luis'.
Between songs, Isakov would chat to the crowd mentioning multiple times how grateful he was to have so many people to play for, how much he valued his friends in his band and how lucky he felt to be able to tour.
With his skinny jeans and scruffed-up hat, Isakov cut an unassuming figure but once he started playing, all you saw was magic. On this night, the sound they created ran through the room like a river, finding the heart of each person and winding through them, connecting everyone through these songs.
There is an ache to his music, and it settles just under your breast bone, humming a heartbeat of nostalgia mixed with jubilation and lament.
When music comes from the heart, something special hovers in the air. The listener feels it. It's a sense of oneness. A connection to each other's atoms across a room. A feeling of coming home through music to yourself. What an incredible gift is was to be there to feel it.
