Remi Wolf

(Header Image credit. Lucinda Welsh)

Arriving at The Timber Yard with my friend and fellow SYN-ner Marshall, we were met with what was essentially a large smoky warehouse- standing room only.

The opener was Sycco- a Brisbane born singer who I had not heard before but blew both me and Marshall away with her groovy jams. Her band only consisted of two other musicians which allowed for more focus on the charismatic singer who owned the stage as if it was her own concert. This was put to the test when her set was interrupted by technical issues and an incident in the crowd, but she persevered swimmingly. Sycco was a great local pick to open the show.

It was hard work waiting for the main event, I had been on my feet all day working and it was a hot and sticky night. But as soon as Remi came out the energy in the room shifted and we were ablaze. Running back and forth across the stage, it felt like the singer was able to reach out to everyone in the room, making the most of the compact environment. To my surprise she opened with the smooth jam Cherries and Cream but it had us all singing along. Everyone in the room was able to let out their pent-up energy with her next hit Cinderella.

Early in the show Remi made sure everyone would be able to beat the heat and contain their energy with a theatre-kid style warm up which included shaking your body and repeating affirmations to make sure everyone would feel comfortable to let loose during the night. This also included a Freddie Mercury-inspired vocal warm-up with the classic ‘ay-oh’ call-and-response which united the crowd. Considering we were packed in tight on a hot sweaty night, it was a good way to get us to band together and look out for each other for the next few hours.

Remi’s set included hits from Big Ideas as well as her first studio album Juno, songs like Liz, Alone in Miami, and local favourite Kangaroo. They had the whole crowd dancing along and keeping energy high.

After the rocker Michael, the crowd were witness to Remi’s cover of Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun. It was a crossover I didn’t expect but suddenly Remi’s influences were made clear. It fitted the audience perfectly and had us all bopping along. She followed this surprise up with an improvised song made up of words from the crowd. Lesbian Waiter was the result- a spontaneous and engaging track about her fictional sister who happens to be a lesbian waiter. Remi’s connection with the Melbourne crowd was incredible to watch- you’d think she was a local act bantering with friends.

Remi kept energy high the whole night, ending with bangers like Toro and Soup. I didn’t want this party to end, but she knew exactly how to take us all home with her breakout hit Photo ID. It had all of us jumping and in a good mood to take a long bus ride home. She is definitely a performer to watch.