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Teddy Swims
Rod Laver Arena
A barefoot Matt Corby glides onto the stage, guitar in hand as the audience erupts into thunderous applause. He casually begins to sing, and as his voice fills the arena the audience are hushed into silence. He is captivating and enchanting all at once and a sensational singer to watch.
Mentioning the audience that he’s a little chuffed to be playing such a huge arena, and he shows his excitement during his short set. Playing a number of his hits, Corby shines with stand outs ‘Resolution’ and ‘Brother’, and while there may be some nervous energy in the performance he delivers the hits with relative ease.
As the lights go down, Teddy Swims appears on a platform, a single light illuminating him. Opening with ‘ Not Your Man’ he instantly has the attention of the crowd. Dressed in a white shirt and black shorts, he saunters the stage like he owns it, the audience enraptured.
Running through a number of hits including ” She Loves the Rain”, ” Need You More” and ” Black and White”, Swims is charismatic, cheeky and very entertaining. Before launching into ” Small Hands” he talks about his experience as a Dad, joking that his five month son is a loser because he can’t walk. In these moments, we see a vulnerability to Swims, behind all the ink and bravado there is a gentle man with a big heart. He may be cheeky and charismatic but his song writing proves he is indeed a deep individual with a talent of turning his pain into art, his vulnerability into success and hit songs.
Bringing out Tones & I the audience is treated to the live debut of their brand new single ” Gone, Gone, Gone” – released only this week, Swims compliments Toni on how great she looks before they blow the audience away with amazing vocals.
Teddy Swims was born to be on stage, that’s for certain and it’s evident by his pure joy throughout the show that he is pinching himself every moment. He is engaging, with an unforgettable voice and the kind of charisma that can’t be manufactured in a television reality show- he has star quality that is infectious, raw and authentic.
The show’s production pulls absolutely no punches either with pyro, fireworks and a confetti cannon.
Teddy Swims has fast become a favorite with Australian audiences, and as he closes the show with ‘ The Door’ the stadium is singing in unison. As the house lights go up, on thing is for certain, Swims is a talented performer that puts on a solid show.
Words and snaps by Amanda Lee Starkey
