#laneway sideshow

Pat Grossi's voice tugs on my heartstrings every time I hear an Active Child song. I remember the first time I heard Hangin' On, it was love on first listen, yet it broke my heart at the same time. The lyrics resonate with me so well.

You Are All I See had a lot of plays towards the end of 2011, I would even go as far as dubbing it the album of 2011 for me. Choir vocals, synths, harp with a twinge of dreamy 80s pop, what's not to love.

So naturally I was greatly anticipating Active Child's Laneway sideshow. 

The Laneway sideshow was sold out days before it took place at East Brunswick Club. The stage curtains opened at 10.40 with Pat Grossi and his harp in the centre of the stage.

Like his Laneway set, he opened with You Are All I See. You Are All I See has got to be one of my favourite love songs, with its sweet notes and simple lyrics. If I ever walk down the aisle on my wedding day, this would be the song I want playing at the very moment. The song is even more spine tingling in a live setting. 

Pat's banter was good natured, relaxed and gracious. He asked who out of the crowd saw them at Laneway, only a handful of people responded (I did too a bit too excitedly), to which he said "Ooh the rich people", which broke the ice with the audience. The crowd went silent when High Priestess started and ended then moving on to Shield & Sword, except for a group of guys in front of me who decided to have a conversation throughout the first half of the set. I did my best to block them out and get lost in Pat's voice. 

It seemed like the crowd wasn't too familiar with the whole catalogue of their songs, hardly anyone singing along (except for myself and a few other ladies in the front row), most people were just swaying slightly during the songs and clapped politely at the end of each song.

This was of course until he strummed the opening notes of Hangin' On on his harp. A cheer (finally!) erupted. It was so moving listening to this song live, I had goosebumps all over and was almost moved to tears.  The next song was also one my favourites from the album, a more catchy and less forlorn tune (dare I say, bordering on R&B?), Playin' House. At this point, Pat gave the harp a break and stepped behind the keyboard. They had some issues with the sound of the keyboard being too loud, Pat sheepishly saying that the crowd would get too much of his voice and not enough of the instruments. Originally the song is sang a a duet with How to Dress Well, featuring their amazing vocal harmonies. I couldn't help but wonder how much better it would be sang live with How to Dress Well. 

Next up was my favourite off the Curtis Lane EP, When Your Love is Safe. A song that I thought a lot of people being in a "are-we-together-or-not" scenario would relate to. The synth and echoey falsetto vocals hypnotised me into a dreamlike state. The crowd seemed to be in a sombre mood, or maybe they were just in a trance like state during each song, clapping at the end of each one. 

Take Shelter, more of an upbeat track, didn't seem to snap the audience out of their trance (or funk?), although I did see a few people bopping their heads and shoulders. Pat Grossi made another attempt to converse with the audience, expressing his regret upon finding out that the East Brunswick Club was closing and gratitude at the opportunity to play there. He asked "Being in Melbourne, there are still quite a few venues to see live bands, right?" Someone in the audience muttered something, but the overall response was underwhelming. Being the nice guy that he is, Pat just smiled and launched into See Through Eyes and Way Too Fast. After which, he seemed to be surprised that it was time for the last song of the set, Johnny Belinda. Maybe it wasn't just the audience who were in a trance. To the audience's "awww" after announcing that Johnny Belinda would be the last song, Pat said "Don't worry, we'll be back again"