LIVE REVIEW: George Alice – Black Bear Lodge

“Doing shows are like when your mum would throw you a birthday party, and you’d have know idea who she invited or who would turn up” George Alice nervously confessed during the opening night of her Australian tour. And with balloons and fairly lights draped across the stage, and an excited crowd who were ready to sing and dance along with her, it felt like one of the parties. But this time it was 9pm on a school night, and there was alcohol involved.

Staged at Black Bear Lodge in Brisbane, this party … I mean, show… was an intimate celebration of how far George Alice has come as an artist. With her debut EP ‘Growing Pains’ out in the world, the Adelaide based singer-songwriter was finally able to play a body of work live in its entirety and watch an audience singalong to song’s that weren’t just singles they heard play on triple j. Opening with the energetic ‘Band Aid’ she glided across the stage before segueing straight into the bubbly (pun intended) ‘Stuck In A Bubble’, and the angsty’ Teenager’.

‘Nervous’ and ‘Mid Years’ continued the EP exploration before she broke this up with an acoustic cover of Tove Lo’s ‘Habits (Stay High), and her triple j Like A Version rendition of Rufus Du Sol’s ‘Alive’. Steering back into her EP, ‘Hold On’ cemented itself as a live stand out, before she closed things off with ‘Haunted’ and ‘Circles’.

George Alice has grown a lot as a live performer since she first popped onto our radar through Unearthed High and ‘Circles’. She has found a confidence in allowing her personality to shine alongside her raw talent as she bounced across the stage and told quirky anecdotes in-between song. But the short set felt really short, and in a headline slot it would’ve been cool if she beefed up the setlist with two unreleased tracks and showed fans where her trajectory was going, as they were left wanting more. But also – leaving fans wanting more isn’t always the worst thing as it means she commanded their attention and left them praising what they witnessed.

On support duties, Brisbane local HANNI set the polished pop tone for the evening with a bubbly set of emotional catharsis. Opening with 2020 single ‘Talking To Myself In The Mirror’, she then leaned into a set full of unreleased tracks like the impressive Mallrat inspired ‘Border’, the angsty ‘See Through’, and the euphoric ‘Backstreets’. Closing out the set with recent single ‘Undermine’ and the smash hit ‘Golden Eyes’, HANNI confirmed she is a future star on the rise.

And talking about stars on the rise, Sydney based artist Becca Hatch erupted on stage with sass, confidence, and pure talent to prove why she is one of Australia’s most exciting up-and-coming RNB-pop artists. ‘Please U’, ‘Safety’, ‘Stay Got Love’ and ‘2560’ had the audience grooving along with her, while her DJ hyped the crowd up and encouraged them to lean into the playfulness of the songs. As she neared the end of her set, ‘Girl Like Me’ became a clear standout, before she closed it out with her triple j Like A Version cover of John Farnham’s ‘Burn For You’.

Check out the gallery captured by Richard Boltron Photography BELOW;