Sydney has served up a spectacular Saturday of blue skies all around, perfectly accompanying James Blunt's Who We Used To Be tour.
Pierce Brothers kick the evening off (23 November) with riotous energy and soulful tunes. They incite a sing-along, before one brother taps his sticks against the other's guitar as he fluidly traverses an intricate melody. "You guys are in for a treat," they remark about Blunt's show, before kicking right back into a tune.One brother holds a harmonica for the other, while playing a yidaki himself, creating a beautiful mass of sound. "Back to those golden times!" they sing in harmony, and these certainly are.
Pierce Brothers - image © Ilyas Adil
The lights drop as a heartbeat pulses across the screen, before dramatic blue lights enter. Images of Blunt play as synthpop enters. "I heard there's a song that God only knows, and it's keeping me dancing beside you," Blunt sings, swinging around with his red acoustic guitar.
His red and black checked shirt and blue jeans give a country vibe, as he begins sadder number 'Saving A Life', picking on his guitar. The song simmers with intensity, before people stream across the screen, as Blunt picks the intro of 'Wiseman', which has the crowd singing along, "look who's alone now, it's not me". "Where are you now?" they belt, as Blunt responds: "We're in Sydney, baby!"
"We're so thrilled to be here in one of the best cities in the world," he says at the song's conclusion. "To see your smiling faces, I cannot tell you how happy that makes us," he says tenderly. "We started this tour in February, and every show since was all practice for tonight," he jokes. "It's true guys, I've not said that to anyone else," he smiles.
"I've made a huge effort for tonight. I have new jeans, new shoes. It's the same old f...ing band." The crowd laugh. "Once they work with me, no one else wants to work with them.
"You guys wanna hear the old stuff or all the new album?" Blunt asks, as they respond with the obvious. "Guys, it's too late. I've got your f...ing money. I'll play what I f...ing like," the jokes continue, before Blunt smiles, "here's an old one."
James Blunt - image © Ilyas Adil
'Carry You Home' is a beautiful piece of songwriting, as Blunt allows the crowd to take the last chorus in a heartwarming choir moment. "All the love that I ever needed I got it from you," Blunt sings passionately, his signature voice ringing through the microphone.
"You're smiling and you're happy, but I know why you come to a James Blunt show. It's because you love miserable songs. Or your wife or girlfriend loves miserable songs," Blunt states.
"I never meant to be that pathetic man with a tear rolling down his cheek. I wanted to be a rockstar in a band, but to be in a band you have to have friends. I pay these guys," he confesses, and the crowd are in stitches.
"So I wrote songs in my bedroom and your wives and girlfriends bought them. So thank you," he says charmingly. "Then I started writing happy songs, and I'll play both of those at the end of the concert. So this is the miserable section of the concert.
James Blunt - image © Ilyas Adil
"I got to live with Carrie Fisher, and she had a piano in her bathroom and chandeliers in her garden. This one is for you Carrie," he dedicates 'Dark Thought'. "I wish you had called somebody," Blunt aches through the heartbreakingly touching song, as a photo of Fischer and Blunt appears to end the song.
'Goodbye My Lover' features images of rain streaming down a window, as Blunt plays an emotive rendition of the classic song. He thanks the crowd for their accompaniment and break-ups never felt so kind. 'The Girl That Never Was' features circle lights and a red backdrop, before Blunt announces: "We're almost out of the miserable section.
"Men, you can't sing this next one, because it's so f...ing high you might not even hear it," Blunt announces for 'High'. "I sing higher than a dolphin, so guys enjoy the next three minutes of silence." He tells the crowd to do a Mexican wave whenever they sing 'high', and Blunt's vocals shine just as they did in 2005.
"I'm bringing out the big guns," he jokes about his ukulele. "It makes me look bigger." 'Postcards' brings the vibe right up, as pastel lights flash across the stage. Blunt shuffles from side to side, before the guitarist shreds through a solo.
'I Won't Die With You' features LA-inspired palm trees and a fluorescent colour scheme, before 'You're Beautiful' stands as a feat of songwriting. The crowd especially enjoy screaming "f...ing high" from the second verse. "What an honour to hear you sing that song here in Sydney. Thank you," Blunt says graciously.
James Blunt - image © Ilyas Adil
'Same Mistake' is entirely lit by the crowd's flashlights, in a heartwarming spectacle, before 'Stay The Night' keeps the party rolling, alongside 'OK'.
"We should finish as we began – with a miserable song," Blunt jokes for the encore. 'Monsters' follows, his song for his father, as pictures of the band members with their dads play. Blunt does deep emotion very well.
'Bonfire Heart' restores a sense of levity, the backdrop red as sparks shoot up the screen. '1973' is perfectly sentimental and somehow also upbeat, as rainbow lights shoot out. It's a fitting end to the show, Blunt standing atop the piano, clapping along with the crowd.
A showman with wit and a brilliant songwriter, Blunt never fails to give you an emotional night, breaking your heart just a little, but leaving you feeling that despite life's heartbreaks, everything is going to be alright.
More photos from the concert.
