Project Description

Maggie Rogers

@ Astor Theatre, WA

21/05/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Melanie Griffiths

.

MAGGIE ROGERS // Photo – Adrian Thomson

.

Tuesday nights might have most of us stuck in the wheel of our new weeknight routines but for a sold-out crowd at Astor Theatre they rocked the joint like they were going to watch the sun come up. With two phenomenal female artists, Maggie Rogers and Stella Donnelly giving playful brilliant performances. Wandering into the Astor you could have done a double-take thinking you had rocked up to a Stella Donnelly gig. The much loved West Australian artist, who debuted her critically acclaimed record in March this year, Beware of the Dogs, could garner her own sellout crowds.

.

STELLA DONNELLY // Photo – Adrian Thomson

.

With her band of friends, Donnelly appeared to be having the time of her life on stage as she joked with the crowd, giggled through “Old Man” and fell on her back to kick her socked feet up in the air during “Die”. She’s like that best friend who would come over to your house after school and get hocked up on red frogs and Coola cordial before making up dance routines to your current favourite song.

Maggie Rogers, a formerly self-confessed folk singer who grew up playing the harp and banjo in rural Maryland, USA, evidently has another passion. As the light went dark to signal the start of her set, they rose again in a warm glow to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”, an inspired choice as it was impossible not to start moving whether you liked it or not.

Rogers then burst out onto the stage with her ripper of a dance song “Get A Little” and a backdrop of spectacularly hued multi-coloured lights that drenched the stage. Some performers would ease into a set, Rogers had every intent to let everyone know that this night was about letting go and dancing around like you were the only one in the room. She said as much as she stopped herself during the intro of “The Knife” to let us know she could see the audience and, in a roundabout way, invited people to dance and enjoy themselves. A literal crackle went through the audience as they whooped in response as “The Knife” started again, and for the rest of the night fans did as she asked.

.

MAGGIE ROGERS // Photo – Adrian Thomson

.

The singer’s voice is beautifully warm and could lend itself to a number of different genres from country, folk, rock and pop. She also displayed great control allowing her to ground her performance through songs like “Say It”, a song about a crush and “Dog Years” from her 2017 EP Now That The Light Is Fading. However, the undeniable pull of Rogers is the ‘everygirl’ allure she exudes; she dances through the happiness and the pain like an act of surrender. It was intoxicating for a crowd that increasingly became louder after each song in their appreciation, or would yell out “We love you Maggie!” only for Rogers to beam a smile in gratitude.

“Retrograde” and “Light On” had the crowd singing along but the crowd saved their love for her break out song “Alaska”. Rogers in her childhood bedroom might have been a banjo playing folk songstress but on stage, exhibiting shades of Florence Welch, she is a dance pop-indie ingenue with a tempered heart.

Certainly, fans couldn’t want for more, except maybe more songs just so the night could continue, something Rogers seemed meek about, “I don’t know what to say I only have one record, so I’m going to keep singing.”

Bringing the night back down from the rafters, Rogers came out for her encore to sing “Colour Song” acapella. A moody, layered performance, at one point her sole spotlight went dark and Rogers dropped her microphone to her side to sing with fierce veracity into the darkened theatre that left the audience in awe and silent for the first time that night. With that, she ended the first stop of her tour revealing herself to be a true romantic, not necessarily for love but for life itself.

4.5/5 Stars

.

MAGGIE ROGERS // Photo – Adrian Thomson

.

Check out Adrian Thomson‘s gallery of the show here

Connect with MAGGIE ROGERS
@OneBigLink

.

.

AMNPLIFY_DT