LIVE REVIEW - half·alive and egoism conquer Australia in the final stop.

I’m gonna be real for a second: this was the dream pairing for a tour lineup. Whoever decided that Egoism and half·alive should be on the same bill deserves the cold side of the pillow and an immunity to stubbed toes for the rest of existence because two bands I’ve adored for at least five years are touring together. Egoism just took their newest album ‘And Go Nowhere’ on tour and have been nomads between Australian cities for the past few weeks to get it in our ears live while half·alive have taken the same war path to achieve that across the world.

‘How To Disappear’ started us off for the night starting real soon after the doors opened, a nice surprise without allowing us to miss the first few songs of the act nor giving a begrudging wait until the opening act. Seeing others in the crowd mouthing some of the parts to the trio’s opening song is the most joyful part: the Egoism revolution is truly upon us. “Just a local band from Sydney” sang about their home city next before assuring us that the places they went on their tour travels were “weird” and, stating the obvious, that “Perth has nothing on Brisbane”

Following with new and old songs including personal favourite ‘What Are We Doing?’, we got ‘Melbourne’ with Scout’s silky and sweet vocals filling the bridge. A notable feeling from this performance was travelling to youthful utopias with every song before being snapped out of it with a hard stop. Suddenly, the three-minute-old reality of leaving friends and getting sober was no longer mine as I was thrust back into The Princess Theatre and reminded of my own responsibilities. Finally, the synth line from the hottest ‘And Go Nowhere…’ single sliced through the silence as Egoism finalised their set with Addison Rd. Afterwards, I found them meeting fans at the merch desk like every opener worth their salt. Given the track record of breaking the accessibility barrier between fan and artist, this experience is everything to those fans.

Before long, the lights dimmed and we were greeted with an extended fan experience between the ‘Persona’ album mascots, Sonny and Cher, the crowd had a few moments to wave to these funky creatures before they left.

‘Sophie’s House’ caught me off guard as Josh Taylor joined the already-onstage bass/synth player J. Tyler Johnson and drummer Brett Kramer, having a walkout soundtracked by its funky bass line and four-on-the-floor beat. A somber build brought the vibes back to the venue as the boys draped in red led us to a final chorus.

We went to ‘Summerland’ next as Josh Taylor threw lines to the crowd to receive exactly what he was expecting right back at him. Bringing back a classic, Trust The Fall came to confirm their legacy beyond the titular album of the tour and call back to the era when they surged in popularity from That One Song (link). Notably, Josh Taylor navigated a two part harmony between a split yet receptive crowd for the final chorus which paired spectacularly with the instruments on-stage. ‘Automatic’ came with its spectacles that not one member of the crowd could've been ready for. Complemented with backup dancers performing the same from the music video to bring a visual reminiscent of an Ok Go! performance. Josh met the crowd in the middle of the song, jumping from stage to barrier and holding one adoring fan’s hand through the whole thing.

‘People’ brought the dancers back and used Josh as a prop this time, bringing a perfect fusion between live music and dance performance. ‘Bleed It Out’ didn't stop that energy from keeping up as an electric and dynamic dance break furled the final section.

Beneath the theatre's arch, we found the hardest place to be with an acoustic beginning to Arrow before launching with no warning into the first verse. Of all the things I learned tonight, I was saddest to know that the chorus bass line is actually achievable in a single take before 900 people; truly a skill issue on my part from the countless attempts and sleepless nights.

As more songs came through, half·alive didn't let up as an unbelievably emotive dance performance went on, leading itself into a dance interlude. Contributing such value to a visual experience in the middle of a live music set was not something I was ready for and nor was the rear half of the crowd as they stirred through the performance. In the moments I could comprehend, elements of rejection and compromise were clear while time passed on with the ticking in the soundtrack.

‘Beige’ as a three-part acoustic performance led us back to the band’s own activities. A smooth transition to ‘creature’ from their first album for a stunning medley of half•alive tracks to bring The Princess Theatre through a second act of scores. ‘Thank You’ makes the third consecutive song between two acoustic guitars and a keyboard where it felt that the ‘thank you's from Josh could be the most authentic. This and the final boss of one’s tear ducts was ‘Songs’ where an explanation of the song came in: the moments we share in each other's company are what fuels us as “the infinite”, a harmony created from what we offer each other while together.

The opener of a final act in this grand scheme of a play came with a few tech problems from Josh’s pack, citing that this was “another moment we get to share together” in the save of the century. ‘Tears In The Rain’ and ‘What’s Wrong’ came with the return of dance as a feature of the performance, delivering an unspeakably tight performance despite the many many moving parts. With the utmost confidence, I say that every live music patron who would discount the value of dance in music performances had better have seen this tour before cementing that very belief, especially as a now-former believer of this mindset.

‘R.I.P.’ was ushered in after a grateful thanks to egoism and the tireless crew working every venue to set up their production while ‘still feel.’ appeared exactly as we knew it, from the ‘Popsicle LA’ studio straight to the stage. The choreography became such a facet of the performance for Josh to require the crowd to sing the entire second chorus so that he could show off the same moves as in that fateful video from six(!) years ago.

‘RUNAWAY’ was last, a fact that was declared on stage before the start of the piece. It was a huge relief to not have to sit through the rum rage of chants for ‘one more song’ where Josh instead told us with an ultimate degree of finality before we had a chance to say anything. An uproarious crowd in the places where we expected it, Casey Murray and Emma Sutherland returning for a complex and highly involved last dance… a culmination of the best motifs from this entire night.

Full gallery available here for both half·alive and EGOISM.