Owen Pallett at Speigeltent

As always, 'tis the season for captivating music and the Sydney Festival really has pulled out some gems this year. I was rather looking forward to checking out as many of the acts as possible. But instead of spending my early January wandering the streets of Sydney in a euphoric musical haze, I spent most of it indoors moping.
Until last Friday afternoon when I was offered a free ticket to see Owen Pallett at the Spiegeltent in Hyde Park that evening.
All I'd heard about him up to that point, was that he played Violin and did cool things with it. Sounded impressive enough to me, so I went along.

The Spiegeltent has a very distinct personality. They were originally built as traveling entertainment venues and cabaret salons in early 20th Century Europe. As you enter the round wooden structure with its mirrored columns, velvet canopy and stained glass windows outlining the intimate booths, you get the sense that something captivating, and possibly even a little cheeky, will be taking place. The trapeze hanging from its centre (but tied up for this performance) reinforces that feeling.

This evening however, it's a one man show. But one of the most captivating I have ever seen. Armed with only a violin, a keyboard and some loop pedals Canadian musician, Owen Pallett puts on a performance that rivals any major band. It's an experience that you simply cannot get from just listening to the CD.

Pallett has a very quiet confidence to him as he takes to the stage and starts his first song. This confidence is firmly assured with the awed hush that descends on the instantly hypnotized seated audience.

After finishing the song he quickly explains that he's playing a lot of new stuff tonight and some songs he hasn't played for a long time, "so hopefully I can get through this without a lot of mistakes. But if it sounds like I'm just going on and improvising; I probably am." If he did at any point during that night, it most definitely went unnoticed.

While his music would fall into the 'softer' indie category, his ability to capture an audience with such ease is quite amazing.

Pallett utilizes poly-rhythms and loops track over track to build the layers of the song. What makes it so fascinating is that he uses his violin in whatever fashion he can to achieve the sound he wants. Plucking, tapping, strumming and even using it as a kick and snare drum. The layers of sound constantly intertwine, steadily building to a crescendo. Pallett's choir-boy voice simply adds those flowery touches to a style that would still be amazing as an instrumental.

At one point during a particularly intense part of a song, where Pallett is deeply immersed in his vocals, the music suddenly stops dead. "Oh sorry, that wasn't supposed to happen. The buttons are too close together," he explains, "I wrote all the software for my loop pedals but I don't know how to actually.. de-bug it, if that's what it's called. Let's just try that one again."
He starts straight back into the song with the same intensity as if nothing had happened.

The confidence and energy he exudes for just one person is astounding. The entire audience was visibly captivated for the entire duration of his set, leaving him with a standing ovation at the end.

Pallet's music most definitely has an indie feel to it, with some of his songs possibly even falling into the indie pop category. It's surprising to me that he hasn't received more commercial play in Australia.

But it's the little intricacies that add so much to his sound. It is clear from the complex layers he create in the music that his theoretical knowledge is quite vast, and this comes through on the CD. But nothing compares to watching him do this all live, by himself, and with such a minimalist set.

If you get the chance to, see Owen Pallett live and rediscover what it means to watch music created of the absolute highest quality. It really was a moving experience, exemplified only by the beautiful setting of the Spiegeltent.

Unfortunately Owen Pallett played his last show at the Opera House last night, so if you happen to be in The Netherlands in February or France in March, go and check out his tour there.

If anything, this was enough to satisfy me for all the other Sydney Festival events I missed out on. So do yourself a favour and see Owen Pallett when you get the chance.