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Image: Vasili Papathanasopoulos.
Last night Tyne-James Organ took to the stage at Sydney’s Factory Theatre, bringing along Dulcie to put on one helluva show. The energy throughout the night was intoxicating with the crowd dancing from start to finish. The tour marks the first time Organ has performed tracks from his debut album Necessary Evil.
Perth four-piece Dulcie opened the show, bringing their mesmerising harmonies, smooth melodic layers, beautiful arrangements and driving rhythms to the east coast. Throughout their set, each band member had their moment to shine, expertly showcasing their individual musicianship whilst also working cohesively together, never missing a beat. At times they were reminiscent of the band HAIM, with songs that had great beats and electrifying guitar riffs, paired with warm, silky melodies that brighten up your day. They played songs audience members knew and loved such as Dust, Fall, and Ethereal, and some from their soon to be released EP, Sake of Sound, including a special collaboration which was created during lockdown and written from opposite sides of the country.
Opening with the moving and intimate Burning Desire, a light from behind formed a silhouette as Organ approached the microphone. The performance displayed Organ’s transcendent vocals, with audience members reaching their hands higher as the musician sang “I felt higher, deeper and wilder, and now it's dead”
As the opening beats of Stranger began to pulsate, the crowd went wild with cheers. There was dancing, jumping, hugging, holding hands. The connection that was achieved throughout the night between Tyne-James and the audience was one of the best things to witness. The energy was another, feeding from the stage to the audience. Bringing Springsteen and Jagger stage presence to the performance, Organ’s electrifying energy flowed through his captivating dance moves, which continues into the next track, Better Than This.
At this point Organ asks the audience to keep each other safe, have a dance, have a laugh, please keep each other safe and we’ll have a good time, whilst also bathing in the glow of live music, thanking the crowd for sharing their Friday night with the musician. He went on to introduce the next track saying it was about his late father, urging the audience to hold the ones you love and hold them tight. The performance of this song was truly poignant, with the singer again encased with a light from behind as he played the guitar, emotion breaking through his words. The audience supported him by singing along and again creating such a beautiful, loving environment.
When London Calling started you could once again felt the energy of the audience in response to the driving beat. Cheers erupted as Organ sings “baby stop”, with a cheeky smile from Organ reciprocating that enthusiasm. This continues into Hold Me Back, where again the energy between the band and audience was palpable. The dancing doubled in the audience with people responding to the singers stellar vocals. The passion Organ displays within each song you feel through the sound emitted, through the dancing and through the overall energy. It was also great to see the way Organ worked with his band, Jack Moffitt, Kelton Hirst and Paris Jeffree, who complimented the singer well.
Throughout the night Tyne-James was chatting with the crowd letting them in on special moments and talking about life, and introduces Overtime with the thought that he was still buzzing from Wednesday night, 50-6. Talking about NSW’s win over QLD in the State of Origin the other night, continuing with the story of how Overtime was written with Chris Collins. There were some beautiful moments within this song, people whistling from the crowd and at one point someone started a clapping moment to which the singer acknowledges with a nod and an appreciative smile.
During Sunday Suit and Something New the audience continued to dance and sing along, with Organ’s enthralling dance moves coming out in full force. Sunday Suit had the singer putting on the best show, with the fan favourite track becoming one of the highlights of the night. Something New continued the energy, with Jeffree offering a killer drum solo in the midst. Organ started to discuss one of his bucket list goals having been achieved, giving a shoutout to Cameron Little from The Vanns, talking about his next song Heal You being about friends. Heal You was another standout moment, just Tyne-James alone on stage with his guitar, and many in the audience singing along for the majority of the track. At one point it sounded like a choir and had many looking around, taking in the moment. The vocals in this song, coupled with the emotion and strength within the performance was mesmerising. The power in the moment was absolutely amazing.
Organ thanked his audience once again at this point, raving about his support act Dulcie, saying he really wanted to see the Perth based band live, so he invited them on tour. The dancing continued into Not Ready For Love where there was a fun energy in the room. With the track ending in an anthem like way, Organ continued his discussion on his bucket list dream coming true, that being, performing triple j’s Like A Version, singing Naive by The Kooks. The musician treated the audience to a cover of the track. Organ ends the show with Graceful, but first opened the song with how much he loves Sydney, thanking the crowd for coming along and reflecting on the year and saying, “for you guys to come here and support us and keep us going, it means so much. It means so much, keeping us alive. The night ended with such high energy singing, dancing and clapping along. The audience was so overcome that again hands were up in the air as Organ smiles back.
Throughout his set, Organ took his audience on a rollercoaster of emotions, ebbing and flowing between moments of joy and triumph, to moments more raw and introspective. His signature open and raw lyricism was on full display, with each track performed leaving an imprint. Organ's captivating vocal delivery throughout the set was effortlessly natural, soaring above lush layers of mesmerising guitar melodies from Moffitt.
The complete show was absolutely brilliant, from start to finish Dulcie and Tyne-James Organ gave us hours of just merriment and joy. Coming together to enjoy a few hours of good music created and performed from the heart, showcasing Australian talent at its finest. Unforgettable vocals that make you so thankful to be able to experience it and see it performed live. Molly Meldrum had a saying on Countdown which needs to be said now, if you’re not listening to Tyne-James Organ “do yourself a favour” and download, buy, stream and listen to his music now.
Images: @vasilipappas
4/5 Stars.
Necessary Evil is out now! Watch our interview with Tyne-James Organ above.