Project Description
LAUV
@ Metro Theatre
(Live Review)
15/03/18
Reviewer: Georgia Dickinson
.
.
.
23-year-old San Francisco-bred Ari Leff, or moreso his moniker Lauv, is taking over the world. His hit single ‘I Like Me Better’ has recently reached 3x Platinum in the ARIA chart, has been streamed globally on Spotify over 367 million times and has slowly crept into the hearts of young adults everywhere with his ongoing playlist ‘I met you when I was 18’. Now, on a tour under the same name, Lauv is selling out out venues around the world, but not before visiting Sydney’s iconic Metro Theatre with a line of adolescent girls and the occasional guy waiting to see the internet sensation take the city by storm.
.
.
First to the stage was LA highriser Noel Kahan, who stood alone on stage with his guitar as he charmed the audience with his song ‘Passenger’. His raspy falsetto made everyone cheer and sway along to his melancholic indie performance. He then played ‘Sink’, a softer tune which sounded like something you’d hear in a local pub, mixed with the hums of conversation from the people in the room. However, nothing made the audience cheer more than his single ‘Hurt Somebody’. Originally featuring songwriter-turned-popstar Julia Michaels, every person in the audience was singing the chorus back to Kahan, leaving him with a smile on his face through his closer ‘Young Blood’.
.
.
Officially touring as Lauv’s national support was Sydney native Nicole Millar, who swept into the stage in a fluffy Guess jacket and her drummer by her side. She kicks off her gigantic support set, which could be a headlining set on its own, with her single ‘Signals’ which had everyone intrigued. Her synchronised dancing between verses in everyone in awe through songs like ‘No Bad Vibes’ and ‘Blindfolded’.
We roared at the sounds of ‘High’, used our phones as lighters for ‘One Thing’ and by the time her brand new track ‘Gimme A Break’ started up, we couldn’t get enough of Nicole Millar. “I just wanna take this time to tell you that this song came out today!” Nicole screamed as the crowd cheered back, and by the time she performed her closer ‘Tremble’, we were more than ready for the sugary sweet sounds of Lauv.
.
.
When Ari Leff steps onto the stage alone, the whole crowd roars as the backdrop lights up to show his signature V logo. He stands by the piano on the right side of the stage and begins to play the beginning chords of his biggest song to date, ‘I Like Me Better’. But that’s all the crowd gets as the backup band come on stage and Leff takes centre stage, umbrella in hand for ‘Paris In The Rain’.
The madness of the crowd doesn’t calm down through ‘Comfortable’. Leff is ecstatic on stage, his smile can be seen from the bar at the back of the venue. He’s making eye contact with every fan on the barrier, even jumping off the stage to be with his most dedicated of fans in front of him as he smashes through a new song ‘Paranoid’ and my personal favourite ‘Reforget’.
.
.
“I got a feeling that tonight is gonna be a really really really good night”, Leff says as he begins on a ramble about how happy he is that he is in Australia for the first time and apologises for his terrible dancing. But insists that crowd pull out their worst dance moves for his collaboration with DJ Snake, ‘A Different Way’.
‘The Story Never Ends’ has everyone singing along with phones in the air, an acoustic rendition of ‘Come Back Home’ has everyone fawning, and by the time Lauv is finished talking about the dumplings he had backstage for dinner, he kicks off one of the bigger hits ‘Easy Love’. In fact, Lauv has an obsession with food. During the bridge of ‘Easy Love’, he makes the crowd spell out “TENDIES”, to express his adoration for crumbed chicken.
.
.
We dance through ‘Adrenaline’, cry over ‘Breathe’ and are instantly on our knees after Lauv and his backing band leave us after ‘Getting Over You’. But Ari Leff can’t leave us for too long, coming back to finish the night with ‘I Like Me Better’ along with “the first song I ever wrote”, ‘The Other’.
Lauv loves Australia, he even says it himself on stage. Whether it was our accent being “hella cute” during ‘Paris In The Rain’, or receiving his first plaque on stage for ‘I Like Me Better’ receiving 3x Platinum in Australia, it’s safe to say the love definitely reciprocated. And even 5 days later, I’ve started waiting in anticipation for Lauv to come back, much like everyone else who fell in love with him at the Metro Theatre that night.
.
.
Connect with LAUV!
.
Leave A Comment