Project Description

PETE MURRAY

+ MATTHEW ARMITAGE

@ The Entrance Leagues Club

20/07/18 (Live Review)

Reviewer – Laura Tedder

Photographer – Kyle Davis

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Pete Murray

PETE MURRAY // Photo – Kyle Davis

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Pete Murray has hit the road with his lengthy ‘Heartbeats’ Australian National tour, playing in smaller and more intimate venues across the country. Friday night, fans packed out The Entrance Leagues Club in Bateau Bay, waiting to hear the catchy hooks and soothing vocals from the man himself at his sold out show. I had never seen Pete Murray live, yet was secretly holding high expectations for the show he was about to give us.

The show began as the support act entered the stage, a solo artist accompanied by a guitar and harmonica. Matthew Armitage is a multi instrumentalist, singer song writer from New Zealand, he mentioned “This is the first ever Australian tour I have been on, it’s a big thing for me”. Matthew Armitage started his set with his latest track ‘All in Orange’. With his distinctive mellow vocals, incredible musical talent, and a personable stage presence, he unexpectedly blew the crowd away. Watching Matthew Armitage as he performs is mesmerising, he’s a truly unique guitarist. Not only is he talented, but his audience interaction was incredible, especially for a smaller venue. What I liked about his set, was he would begin by telling stories about the influences of each song before playing them, allowing the audience to understand the lyrics in a whole new way, whilst also keeping his performance interesting. His hour long set definitely sparked interest amongst onlookers, forming an impressive crowd of fans old and new, and even got some members of the audience moving. For a man on his first National tour, with nothing but a guitar, harmonica and admirable personality to accompany him on stage, Matthew Armitage put on a performance that the crowd will truly remember, I believe this will be his first national tour of many.

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MATTHEW ARMITAGE // Photo – Kyle Davis

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Between the sets, crowds began to form at the barrier waiting in anticipation. Pete Murray undoubtedly brought a certain crowd to his show, mainly being middle-aged females, but it was nice to see some younger faces in the audience too. To say the venue was jam packed would be understatement; it almost became impossible to move around. Pete Murray was finally welcomed to the stage of his sold out show with an eruption of applause and cheering; some females wolf whistling and yelling ‘take your shirt off’. The other two members of his three piece band soon joined him on the stage, and immediately broke out into song. As this was my first Pete Murray show, I didn’t know what to expect, but as a performer and as a musician he exceeded any expectations I had.; Although, during newer, and less-known tracks, the audience seemed happy chatting amongst themselves.

Pete Murray continued to play some tracks from his newest albumCamachobut then gave the audience an older tune,Bail Me Out’ which was evidently a crowd pleaser, and was the song that I believe got his set kickstarted; The audience could be seen singing the lyrics from the top of their lungs, dancing around with one another. Pete Murray played a perfect balance of old and new, switching it up between his classic acoustic guitar sound but also incorporating his new beats and groove with the help of his band. Pete Murray teased the audience with the instrumental of his well known track ‘So beautiful’, before giving the crowd the song they have all been longing to hear. Couples could be seen romantically singing the chorus to one another; by the end of the song, Pete Murray commented “How many of you couples had a kiss or a pash during that song?”  which the crowd responded in a eruption of laughter and cheer. The second half of his set, Pete Murray continued to play a ‘fan-favourite filled set list’.

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Pete Murray

PETE MURRAY // Photo – Kyle Davis

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The lighting at the venue was simple but effective, but the quality and balance of the sound throughout his entire performance couldn’t be faulted. Musically, his performance was near perfect, as any live performance should, his distinctive husky voice and his instrumentals played live, sounded exactly like it does on the track. “I think I’ve played this venue maybe 6 times now, maybe more, and you guys have never failed to sell it out, which is incredible”, which goes to show, even after his 6 year break from music, and bringing it back with a revamped sound and style with a band, he’s doing something right and his audience will always love him.

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Pete Murray

PETE MURRAY // Photo – Kyle Davis

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I’ve never attended a show like this before, I entered the venue not knowing what to expect, but left with nothing but positive feedback to give. It felt like a really friendly gig, with a happy crowd, welcoming staff and incredible sound and lighting team that worked hard behind the scenes to put on an incredible show for fans old and new. I honestly can’t fault their musical performance, I was blown away by their live talent; Pete Murray brought a positive vibe to the stage whilst giving his fans a memorable night to remember.

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Pete Murray

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PETE MURRAY

‘HEARTBEATS’

ACOUSTIC TOUR

Remaining Dates

THU 26 JUL | GATEWAY HOTEL, GEELONG VIC | 18+

FRI 27 JUL | YORK ON LILYDALE, MT EVELYN VIC | 18+

SAT 28 JUL | THE COMMERCIAL, SOUTH MORANG VIC| 18+

FRI 10 AUG NORWOOD, NORWOOD SA | 18+

SAT 11 AUG | NORWOOD, NORWOOD SA| 18+

THU 23 AUG | MACQUARIE INN, DUBBO NSW| 18+

FRI 24 AUG | THE CUBE, CAMPBELLTOWN NSW| 18+

SAT 25 AUG | STATION RESORT JINDABYE, JINDABYNE NSW| 18+

SUN 26 AUG | THE BASEMENT, BELCONNEN ACT| 18+

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Pete Murray

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