From should-be legend to talented
ingénue, the Manning Bar played host to a superb spectrum of Australian talent.
With such gifted musicians on show, it doesn’t take a biased sense of national
pride to be excited at the prospects of Australian music after an evening like
this.

Sydney six-piece Winter People
captivated the audience with a powerful brand of elegant, harmony-rich folk.
Slow and stately, Winter People possess a remarkably mature sound for a
young-ish band. Sweeping easily from grand, melodramatic balladry to more
intimate tones, this is a sophisticated band with a strong identity.

In an incongruous Mariah Carey
t-shirt, Dan Kelly took the stage with little fanfare to perform a mostly-solo
set, with his ‘band in a box’ augmenting the songs as needed. As much a
raconteur as musician, Dan carries himself with an easy charisma, prefacing
‘Fire and Theft (The Landscape Gardener’s Dream)’ with a loose run-through of
the song’s central story that was as witty and entertaining as the song itself.
An easygoing performer, Dan threw deft, self-deprecating jokes in mid-song,
mocking his own “Kate Bush move” in ‘I Will Release Myself Unto You’.

During the superb (and superbly
dirty) ‘Drunk On Election Night’, Dan did his best to engage the crowd in a
singalong on the chorus, but the dedicated bunch at the front of the room
struggled to be heard over the chattering din from the back, as people
continued to talk throughout Dan’s set.

The evening’s headliner, though,
had no such problem. From the moment the stage curtains were drawn after Dan
Kelly, the crowd began to press into the heart of the room, chattering with
anxious anticipation and whooping at the faintest sign that Megan Washington
might appear.

It’s a remarkable run Megan has
had, going from near-unknown to an ARIA #3 album, all in the space of a year.
Having come to national attention following a show-stopping performance on
ABC’s Spicks and Specks
, Megan has
translated this profile into the immensely successful debut
I Believe
You Liar
and a series of sold-out shows
around the country.

All of this success still seems a
surprise to Megan. Wide-eyed and owlish behind her characteristic chunky
glasses, she has around her an air of delighted disbelief, as though the
sold-out Manning Bar full of loving fans might be an illusion that could be
whipped away at any moment. Addressing the audience, she’d cut herself off
mid-sentence and make a comment somewhere between self-deprecating and
self-lacerating.

When she was caught up in the act
of singing, though, all the nervousness evaporated, and the natural performer
in her comes out. Vamping behind the keyboard, she throws herself into the more
energetic ‘Cement’ and ‘Sunday Kids’, but it was the solo interlude that left
the audience stunned. Describing it as a will written in song form, she sang
the beautiful ‘Underground’ with poise and clarity, leaving the awe-struck
audience gaping.

If I Believe You Liar
was the work of a good artist, there are plenty of
hints that Megan might evolve into a great one. New song ‘Plastic Bag’ felt at
once exciting and familiar, working up to a stellar chorus, and might well have
been the best song of the night if not for the untouchable ‘Rich Kids’. Wisely
saved as a closer to the main set, it represents the pinnacle of Megan’s
songwriting to date, possessed of a vibrant energy and effortless pop hook that
sounds distinctively her own. Her talent and promise mark her as one of
Australia’s most exciting musicians, and I’m sure I’m not the only one watching
with interest to see what she does next.