Angus & Julia Stone @ Sentrum Scene

On a rainy summer night in Oslo, Australian siblings Angus and Julia were on stage at Sentrum Scene for an intimate, calm and peaceful concert, embracing both old and new fans.

Text & Photos: Sadan Ekdemir

The concert opened with dimmed stage and a spotlight on Angus whilst he’s humming into song Draw Your Swords. The ethereal and instrumental rendition of the song was perfect to set the right ambience of the atmosphere, slow and calm. They seamlessly swifted to Snow and shortly after a dark one, Oakwood, with visuals of a highway on display.

Postmodern cozy atmosphere

The siblings had been through rough times while making music together and got very close to a quit in 2011. They were however convinced to work again together by the initiative of Rick Rubin in 2014. The show was a proof how both Angus and Julia can shine separately as well as together. Playing the trumpet on one hand and wielding acoustic guitar on the other, Julia showed her musical capabilities on stage and amazed the audience while Angus was singing the song Private Lawns. Julia also took the lead with an honest introduction to the song Santa Monica Dream, which is apparently about her heartbreak from almost a decade ago.

Almost all the songs were revised, and sounded like they were prepared and polished for the live show. They were all energized and ‘pumped up’ to make into dancing tunes rather than just sad and melancholic vibes. The songs Grizzly Bear, Wasted, Big Jet Plane all came in a row whilst Angus suggested that the audience should use the flashlight on their phones (as a reference to old-school lighter trick) to create a ‘postmodern’ cozy atmosphere. It actually worked out pretty well(!). The unexpected confetti show during the last song Chateu was perfect to complete the peaceful and cheerful summer feeling of the concert.

Powerful yet emotional

Upon encore, they played a ‘cover’ song Uptown folks from Angus’ own band, Dope Lemon, and left the stage after Whenever you are.

As a result it was a powerful and yet emotional performance from the Australian duo. The only bad part of the concert was the loud audience, who did not really manage to remain quiet during the slow songs, which made me change my place a couple of times in order to hear and enjoy their subtle tunes.

Angus & Julia Stone @ Sentrum Scene: 8 / 10