Gallery, ReviewDitch This MagazineOctober 11, 2019gallery, live, melbourne, Gallery, review, Corner Hotel, Olympia, Jess Ribeiro, Merpire

Olympia + Jess Ribeiro + Merpire @ Corner Hotel 05-10-19

Gallery, ReviewDitch This MagazineOctober 11, 2019gallery, live, melbourne, Gallery, review, Corner Hotel, Olympia, Jess Ribeiro, Merpire

words & photos: Daniel Hanssen @danthegigman

Review

*“Olympia's live voice compounded this wonder bringing her already exquisite recordings to new heights with a little of that live flair.”*

The Corner Hotel in Richmond was set alight over the weekend for the release of Olympia’s sophomore album Flamingo. Yet, the night was something so much more with an exploration of what makes Olympia’s stage presence so exciting and interesting while also being able to see some of the up and coming works of local artists Merpire and Jess Ribeiro.

Merpire opened the evening at the Corner, the Melbourne based artist drawing a fair bit of early attention from the crowd, a welcome feeling, seeing as some openers garner very little. Using their run and gun rock stylings and some, Merpire were easily able to sweep the attending people off of their feet with some quality tracks off their growing discography, including “Habit”, “Lately” and a couple of tracks off the EP Endless Chatter. Merpire was sassy and energetic and brought a much needed energy to the Corner’s bandroom early.

Jess Ribeiro brought a different mood to the room, a suave kind of energy that crashed around in waves. While her self described "sad" music had a different tone to Merpire, it brought another dimension to the evening, with one easily able to make a comparison between different aspects of both Jess and Merpire’s sounds in relation to Olympia.

Olympia's set was full of wit and charm, the occasion of a sophomore album and Double J recording the event not having a heavy influence on her bubbly yet pragmatic personality. The hour long set capitalised on the opportunity of the release, letting old and new fan's alike to experience the new album in a different light. Olympia's live voice compounded this wonder bringing her already exquisite recordings to new heights with a little of that live flair.

The popular tracks off of the new album were almost too quick to recognise by the crowd response, with only a matter or chords or vocal hold spring the cheers into action as tracks such as “Shoot To Forget”, “Star City” and a closing track “Hounds” were intermixed with tracks off of her 2016 debut Self Talk. Olympia came in hot not wanting to warm into the set, immediately getting behind the guitar and busting through “Shoot To Forget” before a quick run through “Easy Pleasure” and “Tourists” before a brief pause and a hello. Olympia was more than amicable, playing along with the crowd and having a bit of banter with a few members along the way bringing her fans much closer to her over the course of the hour.

“Blue Light Disco” and “Smoke Signals” saw the last couple of tracks of the night out before one final harruh in the form of “Hounds”. It was great to see the crowd get around Olympia as the Corner Hotel lit up one final time that night for the Flamingo release celebration.