Steph Wood, Manning and Dolce Blue (solo) at The Lazybones Lounge, 13th of July.

By Michael Ryan

The Martini Bar at the Lazy Bones Lounge in Marrickville is the most intimate venue for experiencing live music. A small, dimly fuchsia lit room with seating right up to the front stage. A musician’s presence is inescapable, you are truly placed within the scene they intend to tell.

My last rendezvous with the venue left me conquering my own social anxieties yet still left feeling invisible within the room. The Martini Bar however, left you feeling naked in front of strangers, an interesting feeling but one you must get over, for the musician upon the stage is the most vulnerable.

This was ever so poignant when the artist Steph Wood stepped on. Performing solo, strumming an acoustic guitar she delivered incredibly haunting, cold, and contemplative vocals. A true talent that transmitted me into my own depths of the inner mind; a scary place to be especially in an environment you’ve never been to, surrounded by strangers who all vaguely hold the same interests as you, live music. For someone to be performing on their own in one of the most intimate venues, she held herself with such grace and confidence it was truly admirable. Steph Wood delivered her own songs with such harrowing almost despondent emotion it was incredibly conducive to the setting. Poignantly beautiful such was the performance.

Following was Manning. The trio were charismatic and incredible. Apart from a few sound issues that they navigated early in the set, they showed great poise, and humour to not let this overcome them. The lead singer (Manning, hence the name of the band) was fun and enjoyable, it enticed me to pick up the guitar again. His voice was bright, beautiful and melodic. The frontman was full of vigour and energy to deliver original pieces that all reflected his persona. It was not a lofty vision to see Manning conquering the heights of the live music scene and eloquently commanding a great stage and amassing an audience singing back to him.

For the headline, Dolce Blue (solo), performing tracks from the band’s new album, in their original conception. Veronica Zurzolo gave us an inside look into the construction of each song, conceding the tracks on the album were not created in the same manner. She continued to regale how she loves sad, slow songs and if the whole album was full of them, it wouldn’t really sell. A humorous jab yet a poignant point to be made about the way in which albums are created not only for artistic expression but also must consider market precursors that dictate the trajectory of your career. Although a melancholic thought it is refreshing to see an artist get to perform these songs in its entire truth. Veronica allowed everyone into her own mind, the ambience of the Martini Bar at Lazybones was exceptional at transporting us into the incredibly talented artist’s creative space. It was as if we were all sitting in her room whilst she came up with each song.

This experience is exactly why live music is the modicum of artistic enjoyment. To be able to witness new and exciting acts each differing in their creative flair and persona, but to also be within their confides of their own mind garners a greater rapport between artist and audience.