Adam Newling, Cambridge Hotel, Friday January 13
WAS it balmy or barmy?
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Adam Newling's Cambridge Hotel show last Friday for his latest single Barmy, was a whole lot of both.
This was one of those old-fashioned rock shows where it's so humid there's actual condensation forming on the walls and post-show you're damp with sweat, and it's not entirely your own.
However, it was the ideal environment to witness a singer-songwriter like Adam Newling. After all, he sounds like a '70s folk-rock raconteur in the body of a Gen Z indie artist.
Tamworth-bred four-piece Liquid Zoo opened the night with a set that couldn't be further from the country sound of their hometown. Their psych-rock and haircuts are straight from the '70s.
Newcastle indie artist Teleah Riordan, aka Teddie, changed the mood with her chilled brand of indie-pop. In previous shows Teddie has struggled to project her voice and personality, but she has rapidly improved her stagecraft.
She even busted out a cover of Katy Perry's Hot N Cold to get the whole crowd indulging in a slice of nostalgia.
There's something nostalgic about Newling, too. His gruff vocal - which sounds like it's been weathered by years of cigarettes and cheap whiskey - and his knack for writing singalong folk choruses, hold a timeless appeal.
Not surprisingly, the tightly packed Cambridge Warehouse featured multiple generations.
Carrying a can of XXXX Gold, Newling and his three-piece backing band took to the stage and he was immediately handed a personalised pair of blue sunglasses.
The recorded version of the opener Cheer Up is mellowed with a country twang, but live Newling hit the audience like a freight train.
"I was a born in Newcastle," Newling told the audience (he lived at Warners Bay until he was five, before his parents moved to Cronulla).
"You can take the son out of the steel, but you can't take the steel out of the son."
If you want a slick, note-perfect performance, then Newling isn't your man.
The set was loose and ragged, but powerful and authentic. Newling seems like he's giving the audience a piece of his soul every time he belts out a tune.
And he's a proper songwriter. Songs like Leather Face (undoubtedly the best track written advocating the merits of sun protection) and Singing Blackbird possess stirring choruses made for mass singalongs.
Barmy and breakout song Sweetness generated the biggest response of the night, before Newling invited Teddie and others on stage to sing a glorious version of Australian Crawl's Reckless.
An encore wasn't planned, but the Cambridge demanded more.
So Newling and his band obliged with The Last Cowboy Song.
You get the feeling this urban cowboy will need a planned encore next time around.
