Dan Sultan. Dan ‘Sultry’ Sultan. Dan Sultan the rising star of Australian music. Dan Sultan, I have very, very high expectations for your live show.

I’d seen the Aussie singer-songwriter a few years prior to his stardom, at Folk festivals and Sydney Rd pubs. I couldn’t wait to see the highly-acclaimed artist live, once again.

As smoke billowed around the stage at the Forum Theatre, the star of the show emerged from the right and edged into the limelight. However, it seemed Dan Sultan had brought along an unexpected companion: his ego. For the first handful of tracks, Mr Sultan insisted on sharing personal anecdotes and impersonating Elvis Presley. His overconfidence was distracting to the real quality of the music. I'm so happy I stuck around, because by the end of the show I realised he is a very talented chap, really.

Boasting a band that features Scott Wilson on the guitar, as well as keyboards, drums and a horn section, Sultan has come a long way since his days at the pubs in the inner-city circuit. The 27-year old has certainly made his mark on the Aussie music scene, having won esteemed prizes such as Single Release of the Year at the 2007 Deadly Awards and making it to number 1 on the Independent Australian Music chart. His latest album, ‘Get out while you can’, is impressing music critics everywhere.

I waited with bated breath for Sultan to blow me away with his musical talent. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until halfway through the show that my very high expectations were met. After slogging through half an hour’s worth of slow tunes, all of which were undeniably well written and showed off Sultan’s vocal versatility including ‘Old Fitzroy’ and ‘Goddess Love’, Sultan eventually kicked into fifth gear. The horns re-emerged, a couple of gals were recruited for back-up vocals and I was finally able to relate to all the praise for Dan Sultan. And I remembered why I’d love him so much at Port Fairy Folk Festival a few years ago, and why I tried (and failed) to catch him at the Evelyn, a pub in Fitzroy, as a not-quite-legal sixteen year old.

‘Letter’, ‘Your love is like a song’ and ‘Cadillac and a Mustang’ rose far above the rest, impressing every single person in the venue. The atmosphere was enriched by this amped-up performance. By now, I was convinced that Sultan deserved every piece of praise to his name. The inevitable encore consisted of three songs, during which one vivaciously curvy back-up dancer and her very skinny counterpart were employed. The energy levels were contagious and, by this time, Sultan had eased up a bit and just went with the flow of his performance. No inadvertent Elvis impersonations, no more arrogance. Just music, which is exactly how it should have been from the start. Dear Mr Sultan, in future, lose the 'superman' attitude and be the guy we perceive you to be from your lyrics, values and background. You’re capable of an engaging, world-class performance. The gracious, entertaining and humble Sultan we saw by the end of this show was who we came to see.

Header Photo taken at the venue by Anna Palmer.