“This album no longer belongs to him, it belongs to you.”
It was a tear-jerking evening of emotion and incomparable vocals as Sam Smith closed his In The Lonely Hour world tour at Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Supporting Sam on the tour was Emma Louise, (“my head is a jungle, jungle”) a sultry alternative pop singer that shined through her setlist under shadowy lights and the organic sounds of acoustic instruments behind her.
As ticket holders rolled into the arena in the darkness, Emma provided the perfect sounds of a polished vocalist to set the mood for what was to come next.
The first Brisbane heard of Sam Smith was, fittingly, a live a cappella of his voice. Launching into his final show with 'Life Support', the hardcore fans in the mosh pit and throughout the stands screamed all the words and were fixated by Sam's every movement.
Performing songs from his one and only album, Sam recalled writing each lyric as a result of heartbreak and love for a former partner; a love he now gives to his fans instead.
'I'm Not the Only One', 'Like I Can' and 'Money On My Mind' were obvious crowd pleasers, and a cover of the late Amy Winehouse's 'Tears Dry On Their Own' mashed up with 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' got the whole room on their feet.
Adding anecdotes along the way, Sam told stories of unrequited love and his plans to “go away” in preparation for his next album.
The song 'I've Told You Now' was accompanied by an explanation – a phone call fuelled by over-consumption of liquid courage that led to Sam confessing his love to a friend he fell in love with.
Like a true artist, the performer brought his backing band and singers into the forefront, introducing them and demanding applause for their efforts from the audience. This proved that he not only had talent, but also true appreciation for the people around him.
After leaving the stage to an explosion of cheers and applause, Sam re-emerged, greeted by a sea of iPhone flashlights and “Sam, Sam, Sam” echoing through the arena.
The show was closed with arguably his most well-known song, 'Stay With Me', along with showers of confetti and champagne splashing all over the stage by Sam's band. They were all in costumes from MovieWorld to commemorate the final show, with Sam in a sailor hat to pay homage to his fans.
It was overwhelming and heart-warming to see 13,000 people filing excitedly into a room to watch Sam bare his soul on stage. A crowd of music-lovers who spent their money to see real, raw, honest talent for an hour and a half. And that is exactly what they got.
Five out of five little sailors!
