Josh Pyke: The One-Man Show
Words: Leah Holdsworth
Pictures: Kate Scantleton
Memories and Dust as well as other less known (but no less enchanting) songs, he seemingly created an effortless calm ambience. One amazing thing about this talented young man was his ability to wholly enthral the crowd throughout his whole set. Dancing slowly on the spot, singing the lyrics softly under their breaths, the audience gazed up at him with total admiration. It was clear that this audience felt a personal connection to the words that he sung. Pyke himself seemed to be genuinely enjoying his own performance; it was particularly sweet to see the satisfaction on his face after every time he sung ‘I’ll just hold you tight and we’ll not let those fucker’s in’ during his rendition of The Lighthouse Song. 
Josh Pyke started the evening with a solo set. Singing catchy tunes such as
Though the audience was certainly not becoming edgy, and in fact were rather visibly enjoying his soft performance so far, a set change took place and soon Pyke was joined onstage by a select few of his fellow band members. A quirky element soon became clear on stage, as little and cute instruments were used by the other band members. These additions included a toy piano (that had the musician hunched over in an eccentric, but nonetheless adorable, fashion), a miniature guitar, as well as Pyke’s own signature harmonica. The energy soon began to build, finally reaching a peak during the crowd favourite, Middle of the Hill. The song and the atmosphere was unreal and climactic – the audience truly ‘went off’.
And, though it did not seem possible at the time, a third set change occurred with yet another change to Josh Pyke’s performance taking place. A harder, rockier sound was added as another element to the evening, which created a delicious, delicate balance between soft acoustic, quirky rock, and an alternate rock sound. Overall, the evening was thoughtfully planned out, and Josh Pyke’s performance certainly satisfied the masses. Indeed, Josh Pyke managed to do more than just satisfy the audience; he created an evening that will surely be remembered fondly by all, as was clear by the smiles that played on each of the faces I glimpsed as I left.