As the sold out Brisbane crowd chanted “I’ll be whole, I’ll be whole, but I don’t know when” during the emotional ‘First Week’ I looked around and saw a unity of love, respect and empowerment and that’s what Vera Blue’s ‘Lady Powers Tour’ was all about. No matter what was going on in your life, no matter how you felt before you walked through those doors you were instantly cast under her spell and completely living in the moment. The Sydney singer-songwriter strutted out onto the stage to the opening bars of ‘Magazine’ and quickly revealed that this was going to be a very different experience compared to her previous tours. With an elaborate stage set up that was built by massive LED screens and levels that saw her band elevated up while she was surrounded by a massive lighting rig, she transported you into a different realm with all her emotional moods. The anthemic ‘Give In’ followed with its flashing strobe lights before her old EP favourites ‘Fingertips’ and ‘Settle’ made an early appearance to create some massive singalongs. While there was a lot of imagery on the screens and big lighting cues happening her raw essence was still captured. I was worried that with all of this added production value that she would love the intimacy that her past tours excelled in, but she didn’t. ‘Patterns’ and ‘We Used To’ stripped things down momentarily before ‘Private’ and ‘Fools’ had her soaked in flashing lights and releasing some inner angst.
She graciously thanked the crowd for selling out two nights at The Tivoli and candidly reminisced about how she opened for Broods at the same venue 2 years prior. She serenaded the crowd with just a guitar in her hands for the acoustic ‘Pedestal/Cover Me’ and the heartbreaking ‘Said Goodbye To Your Mother’ by reminding you why you fell in love with her in the first place. Her powerful vocals take you on a journey of hope, heartbreak and reflection through her raw and honest storytelling. The high notes she effortlessly hits is ridiculous and there are moments where her folk roots shine through with captivating vocal runs. The show was tied together by the euphoric love song ‘Hold’, the reflective ‘Mended’ and the empowering ‘Regular Touch’ which had everyone losing their inhibitions. But after saying good night to the adoring crowd they were chanting and wanting more. She ran back on to the pulsating synth intro of ‘Lady Powers’ for a massive dance party. She was joined on stage by her support acts Alice Ivy and Kira Puru to throw some roses into the crowd and closed the show in the most perfect and empowering way. The feminist anthem is exactly what the world needs right now as it’s fun, uplifting and has a serious undertone of embracing and respecting yourself and other women. We live in a world that is full of hate and negativity and it is so easy to get lost in it but tonight Vera Blue delivered a whole lot of hope and love. It really comes by no surprise after witnessing this production that all her shows on this tour are sold out. She’s transformed herself into a indie-pop queen and it’s really exciting to watch.
Check out the full photo gallery captured by The Raveyard Photography here;
Photos by Hannah Dodd