It is quite the testimony to an artist’s talent when they manage to sell out a venue with minimal advertising leading up to the concert.  Well that is exactly what ARIA Award winning artist Dan Sultan did when he took to Adelaide’s The Governor Hindmarsh on April 23^rd for an intimate performance in support of his upcoming fourth album.  The unconventional performance, which Sultan described as “not a real concert,” consisted of two sets with the first containing brand new material from his forthcoming album and the second consisting of old favourites.

It was evident that punters were not sure what they were getting into with the “Pop Up Evening With Dan Sultan,” but it was soon obvious that the performance would be an imitate, laid back evening that seemed more like a conversation between performer and audience.  During the first set, Sultan sat behind an enormous piano and first introduced his upcoming album and how it came to be.  This set was like a sneak peek to the album, but a more stripped back version as Sultan’s vocals were paired simply with the piano, declaring that the recorded version would sound quite different when paired with the variety of instrumentation.

The simplicity of the set up gave Sultan the chance to showcase his incredible vocals and stunning poetic lyrics, although admitting that the piano was not his first instrument.  Sultan shared that when he first started to write this record that he wanted to change it up and not include any love songs, but after a while, the love ballads started to sneak in and he had soon had a whole bunch of material that since became the record.  His lyrics covered a variety of topics including the Australian political climate, imagery of the Australian outback and of course, a whole bunch of love songs.  In between songs, Sultan shared anecdotes about how the songs had come together and had the whole venue in stitches with his witty one-liners and powerful stage presence.

Following intermission, Sultan kicked it up a notch as he began playing the electric guitar, immediately seeming much more comfortable to jam on the guitar than engaging in banter in between tracks.  Suddenly the atmosphere in the room had change and the seated setting seemed restrictive and everyone just wanted to get up and dance.  The difference between sets gave Sultan the opportunity to showcase his artistic ability and versatility.  The second set was filled with old favourites, such as Kimberly Calling, Under Your Skin and Dirty Ground, with the crowd cheering as soon as he played the opening chords of each song.  Sultan’s intimate performance was definitely striking and memorable and really showcased Sultan’s musical talent and lyricism.  If tonight was anything to go by, Sultan’s upcoming studio album is going to be a masterpiece filled with raw emotion and incredible musicianship.