LIVE REVIEW - Alexander Stewart shines on stage in Brisbane

On the 2nd of June, I saw Alexander Stewart at The Brightside and to say it was magical would be an understatement. His Shawn Mendes-like charm and soulful voice captivated every last member of the audience - to the point where the crowd was so much louder than I was anticipating. The Brightside is a relatively small venue compared to other venues in Brisbane such as the Fortitude Music Hall, The Tivoli, The Triffid, etc. BUT in saying that, I was shocked by how loud the crowd was for its size.

But let’s start from the start… not the iconic bossa nova song by Laufey though.

Before Azure Ryder opened, the house playlist was full of great songs, like some of Olivia Rodrigo’s hottest hits such as Vampire. As an Olivia Rodrigo stan, that kicked the night off to a great start.

Once Azure Ryder took the stage, the crowd was dead quiet in the best way. 

She was performing by herself with an acoustic guitar which was perfect because her sweet, silky voice was enough to entrance the audience without needing a full band. I found that her music was like a combination of Melanie Martinez and Gracie Abrams - two artists I absolutely adore - so it was a joy to watch her perform.

When Azure Ryder left the stage, the epic tunes started playing again and they were even better than the ones beforehand. They played artists such as Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo once again. It was like they were playing my own playlist through the speakers so I was vibing. 

Fast forward to Alexander Stewart’s performance, the main event. I didn’t even last until the second song before I started getting teary-eyed. He opened with 'Put You First' and the moment he walked on stage, the audience was cheering and everything was happening. The dynamic between the two band members was very cool to see. Their non-verbal banter was endearing to witness, considering they are the backbones of the performance. 

He sang 'day i die' as the fourth song and the audience sang along which was beautiful to see considering the heartfelt meaning of the song. 

During '24 Hours', Alexander had a falsetto solo and it was absolutely flawless. Not only that, the guitarist had a solo moment which was everything.

Then came the dreamy acoustic portion of the set, where he sang Katy Perry’s 'The One That Got Away' which hit a little close to home because that song always makes me cry. 

He followed that song with his original 'Life at First Sight' which was honestly such a beautiful song. It reminded me of Ed Sheeran’s 'Perfect' in the best way. 

After he played that song he mentioned that he kept looking at all the couples in the audience and said that he was happy for them while giving them the bombastic side eye, which I found hilarious.

After that, the acoustic set came to an end.

The next song he played, 'House of Cards' was honestly one of my favourites in the set. It started off with just Alexander and the guitarist jumping on the keys so it was cool to see diversity in the instruments. This particular song was very emotional and I resonated with the lyrics being about not being able to give up on someone. 

That beautifully heartbreaking song was followed by 'Here Again' which is being released later this week as I’m writing this. The fact that he played an unreleased song was very exciting for the fans because they cheered very loudly. They were also singing along to the song even though it’s not even released yet, which I thought was very cool.

Next up was 'Wrong Way' which was more of a funk-esque song and was quite a change-up compared to the ballad-like songs in his set. The band looked like they were having a lot of fun with this song which was awesome to see. Not to mention, that guitar solo! It was absolutely off the chain. Plus, the audience were clapping on beat so that was super cool, once again.

Alexander decided to start the next song by himself with the piano which was really inspiring to witness, as a pianist myself. Then the rest of the band came back on stage and killed it, as per usual.

'My Reflection' was absolutely gut-wrenching and his powerful vocals accentuated the emotional lyrics of the song (being about not liking your reflection). It was sweet to see him encourage the crowd to reach out to someone if they are struggling because it humanises the artist.

He closed the set with one of his most popular songs 'i wish you cheated'. It started off with the guitarist jumping on the keys once again, then hopping back on guitar during the chorus. The call and response between Alexander and the crowd was beautiful to see. Although the meaning of the song is quite heartbreaking, the energy was still a 10. I was very impressed by Alexander’s stamina during this last song, because he had been singing for an hour at that point and he still looked like he was having the time of his life. 

Alexander Stewart’s performance was moving, heartfelt and passionate. His raspy yet smooth voice captivated the audience in a way I hadn’t seen until that night. He was absolutely amazing and I would not hesitate to recommend catching him when he comes to Brisbane next.

The full gallery for the night is available here.