Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Thursday April 25, 2013 :
It was cool yet still evening out the front of the Sydney Opera House, but the same can’t be said for what was going on inside. Although lined with seats, you found it very hard to find a Tegan and Sara fan being restricted to said seats. The Canadian twins and their backing band were here to kick off their Australian tour in style!
Now if you know me, you would know that I am not the biggest fan of Tegan and Sara’s latest album, Heartthrob. That’s not to say I HATE it but there is something about this album that seems forced and underwhelming. Well that is the case recorded. When transitioned into a live atmosphere and the acoustics of the Opera House, my ears were awakened to a side of this album that I have not yet heard. In a live environment, the songs, although still very full, seemed a little stripped back which lets that Tegan and Sara sound we all love shine out. This was best shown in ‘How Come You Don’t Want Me?’ A pop driven heartbroken ballad which saw the audience singing loud and feeling all of the feels.
While I may have been won over a little with the new tunes, the highlights for this reviewer was hearing the back catalogue, and the audience seemed to share this feeling. The energy in the room when the acoustic strums and beautiful harmony’s of ‘The Con’ came through, we were greeted by the huge sound of the drums and the feeling of every dry eye crying and every beating heart breaking.
A near flawless performance was greeted with a little slip up in the midst of ‘Alligator Tears’ as Sara forgot the lyrics to the last verse and prompted the band to stop as she apologised and then re-entered the song with their keyboardist and followed by the full band. This and a few off notes were barely noticeable and showed that Tegan and Sara are indeed human.
The lack of songs from their album Sainthood came as a bit of a disappointment for me with only hearing the aforementioned song and ‘Arrows’ but with the abundance of songs performed for us on the night, I could only hold a grudge for long. Closing the night with two acoustic tracks ‘Call it Off’ and ‘Nineteen’ was a great treat.
With their quirky interactions between songs and their sense of gratitude, Tegan and Sara definitely showed us that they missed Australia and are very thankful to be able to be here again!
Reviewer: Sean Degan