Holy Holy Live at The Enmore Theatre: A Review
Photographs by Eloise Beath
ARIA Double Platinum group Holy Holy (vocalist Timothy Carroll and multi-instrumentalist/producer Oscar Dawson) brought their national tour to Sydney's iconic Enmore theater last week. Presented by Triple J, Live Nation, Select Music and Tiny Monster and off the back of releasing their highly anticipated fifth studio album ‘Cellophane’, which reached #4 on the ARIA Charts, HOLY HOLY treated their audience to an eclectic, energetic and genre-bending experience.
I watched as young and old filled Enmore Theatre with enthusiasm and anticipation. Couples, groups of friends, lone rangers, many visibly giddy with excitement. Although initially the support act was named Tasman Keith until he unfortunately broke his leg, A DJ set from Tasmanian duo Sumner followed by Gold Coast indie-rock trio Eliza and The Delsuionals, well and truly warmed the crowd up and had them dancing and swaying, ready for the main act.
With 5 albums spanning over the last decade, HOLY HOLY has a plethora of tracks to choose from. Although this tour is to showcase the new album Cellophane, the duo were generous in ensuring some fan favourites from right across the last decade were played. Opening the set with Send My Regards from their 2017 album Paint, moving on to Believe Anything from their 2021 album Hello My Beautiful World, and seamlessly gliding into People Change from the cellophane album. These effortless transitions are not to undermine the band’s growth over the years, but instead to highlight their musicianship and their incredible skill set. Carroll exudes charisma on stage, working every inch of the space given to him, while Dawson escapes from behind the keys to absolutely let rip on his guitar solos every opportunity he gets.
Early on in the night, Dawson gathers the audience for what he describes as “band rehearsal”. Spending 4-5 minutes teaching the audience the chorus to Cellophane in a call and response type manner. Teasing that we would circle back to the full rendition later in the night. Hundreds of voices coming together to sing acapella together sent chills up my spine.
It was clear the audience favourite of the night was True Lovers from their 2017 album Paint. The track explores that feeling of the right person, the wrong time, and the angst that comes with it. The crowd sang passionately while Dawson encouraged everyone to climb onto each other's shoulders. Although the track is lyrically emotional, it is on the backdrop of a huge retro electro-pop instrumental. Oozing with nostalgia, sentimentality, and ultimately, hopefulness.
The evening was a collaborative effort, in that HOLY HOLY were joined on stage again by their support acts throughout the set. Rapper and producer KWAME, also jumped on stage to perform the hottest single from the Cellophane album, Messed Up which boasts over a million streams on Spotify alone.
Finally, we circle back to Cellophane, all that “band rehearsal” was worth it. A choir of voices worthy of holding up your lighters and swaying, if only we weren’t confined indoors. The band describes Cellophane as the feeling of knowing you’re about to lose something. Perfectly placed at the end of the main set, it begins to set in that the night is almost over.
Some audience members start to slip to the back of the venue in order to avoid the eventual rush of the crowd at the end of the night, some take a seat on the ground, fully relaxing into the final moments they have left of the evening. Many stayed put where they had begun the night, soaking it all in while they could.
For the encore, Chloe from SUMNER joined the stage to perform Ready, a track with a real synthy 80’s movie montage pop sound. Chloe brought relentless energy to the stage, much like Carroll, she utilised every bit of space she could.
The final song of the evening, although morbidly introduced as “a song about dying”, Teach Me About Dying is actually a song seeking answers on how to really live. The biggest single from the 2019 album Pool of Light, leaves the audience with a sense of newness, excitement and a willingness to embrace life to the fullest capacity because we understand our time on this earth is finite.
HOLY HOLY is one of the most exciting Australian acts out right now. With their club-worthy dance tracks and introspective lyrics, the pair have faultlessly transcended genres throughout the years. With just a handful of shows left on this tour, it would be a sin to miss this duo in all their glory.