The very quaint and intimate Raval was the perfect venue for an evening of acoustic tunes.
Opening act, Sydney singer/songwriter Vanessa Jade (pictured below), looked right at home among the antique lounges and red curtained stage. Her folk and country-tinged music bore an honest, vintage pop quality and her sweet, pitch-perfect vocals were reminiscent of Sally Seltmann.
With his debut EP about to hit the shelves, Daniel Lee Kendall already seems to be making a name for himself. He has been featured on Triple J’s Unearthed, performed at this year’s Coaster Festival and apparently sent tongues wagging with his performance at the recent Big Sound in Brisbane. It’s not hard to see why there’s so much fuss about this Central Coast musician – Kendall’s short but sweet set showcased a strong and promising talent and he managed to render the entire room pin-drop silent throughout this set.
Solo acoustic musicians may be in plentiful supply, but DLK stands out thanks to his ability to surprise. Nestled among the acoustic songs (and a surprisingly lovely rendition of a Passion Pit number) was the laidback Gotye-meets-Jack-Johnson “Lost in the Moment” (which featured a rather charming whistled interlude), and the standout track “The Point In This?”, the reverberated keyboard riff and subtle electro-pop fluidity giving the song an understated, Postal Service-like quality. The arrangements are simple yet effective, and as long as Kendall continues to experiment there’s no reason why this guy can’t be the next big thing.
