By Arne Sjostedt
UC Refectory, 4 October 2019
Amy Shark danced her way through her set list of crowd favourites as if she was made for the stage.
She belongs there, leading her band and making short work of entertaining the Canberra contingent of the Amy Shark cult. A fine performer equally comfortable with or without her guitars, her highly charged and intelligent music is an acquired taste loved by the masses.
As much substance as show, kicking into fan favourite Mess Her Up early on in the set, Shark controlled the energy, pacing herself and letting the power of her tracks drive her and her truly all-age audience forward.
While a less controlled volume level from the front of house could have elevated the energy, the reigning indie-pop princes showed Canberra just what she can do, and did not fail to deliver during her almost one and a half hours on stage.
Starting bang on time, the multiple Aria Award winner was fluid, dressed in white Adidas, and performed with a sense of calm and control that belied how difficult it is to deliver such a polished set. She felt natural and rehearsed, professional yet vulnerable enough to give the sense that her music was being channeled from a cultivated and sensitive creative place.
The hits caught the audience as only hits can, and she closed the evening with the biggest of them all, I Said Hi.
The stage, with her name spelled out in white letters behind her and a lighting design that captured the modernity of the Amy Shark musical drama, was a fitting backdrop for her travelling roadshow. A place for Shark to groove, enjoy, present her art with gratitude and professionalism.
Her first headline show here in Canberra, Shark was never in doubt of showing just what has made her one of the biggest names in the Australian indie-pop landscape.
Gig gallery: Amy Shark
Photos by Andrew Moore