Artist: Pete Murray
Date: Saturday July 7th 2018
Venue: Redland Bay Hotel, Brisbane.
Reviewer: Hear2Zen
Photographer: Andrew Treadwell – Hang Me On Your Wall Photography

Pete Murray bought his Heartbeats National Acoustic Tour to Brisbane with a stop at the Redland Bay Hotel. The evening kicked off with Matthew Armitage. From northern NSW,  Armitage set the tone for the night with his cool blues numbers.

Pete Murray decided to take a different approach on this tour by just having 2 band members support him, and no drummer, making use of loops and samples. Most people would say this isn’t a pure way to do it, but personally I think that it made the show quite unique and more intimate.

Starting off the night with “You Pick Me Up” and “Blue Sky Blue” the Brisbane crowd took a little while to warm up and move down, which was a little disappointing but they improved as the night went on. “Bail Me Out”, “Only One”, and “Silver Cloud” followed along, with Pete pushing everyone to get involved also helping play matchmaker for a few of the singles, which while embarrassing for those involved really made for a fun atmosphere.

Pete took time to give his band some really great feature spotlights through the whole show with Brett Wood on Guitar and Simon Fisenden on Bass, Keys and Flute.  Both guys backing vocals were outstanding and showed that only 3 people on stage could create such a rich and full sound. In fact chatting with Pete after the show he couldn’t be more complimentary of not just his band mates but the over all sound they are creating. He sees this style of show as his future.

And as for the show, it was great that it really was a retrospective. All of Pete’s career got showcased and he really engaged the crowd with stories behind some of them and it gave the show a lot more of a connected feeling between band and audience. He finished off the main set with “Better Days”. He didn’t leave anyone hanging long before heading into the encore of “Beautiful”, and ending out the night with “Always A Winner” by bringing opener Matthew Armitage back on stage, for what turned into extended jam with Armitage and Brent Woods trading out solos.

If you are a fan of Pete Murray, I’m sure you already have your tickets, if you have only heard Pete through his singles, or are a casual fan, I really recommend getting out to a show. No special effects, no backing dancers, no big video displays, no smoke and mirrors, just the songs, the music and the atmosphere. Its a great night!

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