LIVE REVIEW: VOILÀ + YORKE @ THE TRIFFID 15/02/26

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi. Photos Rod Fletcher

When VOILÀ announced that they were going to tour Australia, my daughter told me to get a ticket and that I wouldn’t be sorry. So, I hit the buy button on MoshTix and did it. So, with my bunny ears in hand, I took myself to see VOILÀ and their fabulous supporting musician Byron Bay’s Yorke. My daughter was right – the concert was so good.

The Triffid was the venue for VOILÀ’s Magic Word Tour performance. There were actual magicians, as well as the musical sorts in VOILÀ and Yorke. The lines for this last sold-out concert at The Triffid were huge. The fans came out early to get a position for a front row view of VOILÀ’s last show in their world tour. Magicians were entertaining the lines of people inside and outside the venue. VOILÀ even came out to talk and socialise with fans. It was magic!

For context, LA-based pop-rock duo VOILÀ are Luke Eisner and Gus Ross with their drummer Jarad Kleinstein. The duo met at USC's prestigious Thornton School of Music. VOILÀ are Emmy nominated musicians. They have smashed five hundred million streams and created their own magical landscapes that capture the imagination of the disenchanted. The tickets for their Australian gigs sold out in minutes. They have sold out every show across the US and Europe. It’s heady stuff to watch the future of music.

The evening started with the fabulous singer songwriter Yorke (aka Grace Hughes) now based in Melbourne. She came onto the stage with her drummer Charlie to deliver a warm-up set. I have seen Yorke many times and really highly rate her songwriting skills and pop delivery. Her growth as a performer and importance as a songwriter (see music written with Alice Ivy and Bella Amor) has been impressive. She had the energy to start to kick start a venue filled with fans wearing glowing bunny ears into dance mode.

Yorke started off her set with her fantastic pop song ‘Love On The Run’ and followed it with ‘Unfinished Business’ from her ‘Unfinished Business’ EP. She then delivered a “sneak peek” at some new music to be released in May as she performed ‘Faster Than Ferrari’ for the crowd. Then, she delivered ‘I Wanna Hate You’ and ‘Villain’ with their irresistible pop hooks and excellent production values.

Yorke then, took us back to some earlier music for her EP ‘Ten Feet Tall’ with ‘Honeymoon’ and it was followed by ‘Next Life’. Then, the fun and upbeat song ‘Sorry In Advance’ was performed with its unique musical elements, with reverberated drumbeats, claps and a prominent bass line, which are often unused in pop songs. Yorke performed the fan favourite ‘Window Shopping’ next. Yorke closed out her set with ‘Breakup Season’ and ‘Airplane Mode’.

Yorke delivered an alternative-pop set with class and delivered a sound that was both atmospheric and electrifying. It is great to see her music garnering worldwide attention with over 45.5 million streams. Hopefully, that Tomcat headline gig that was postponed due to renovation can get a re-boot! She will have a few new fans based on her performance at this concert.

The Triffid stage and lighting people then prepared everything for VOILÀ. CO2 cannons, sparklers, candle microphones and lights were all fixed and we were told ear protection was a must. Setlists went down. Then, the lights dimmed and a voice over the PA introduced the magical world and told the crowd that “testing of their singing” was up as we went through levels 1 to 3 singing along to songs from Bon Jovi, Jimmy Eat World and My Chemical Romance.

In the dark, the rabbit ears glowed. The singing stopped. The PA went quiet. Then a voice, “Charlotte” announced the band as “the magicians” would appear if the crowd summoned them. The whole crowd got loud! It was amazing to witness the skill, without much effort, of VOILÀ knowing how to get the whole crowd excited without even coming on stage.

VOILÀ burst onto the stage with cannons going off and sparklers glittering. The crowd bounced in excitement. As the performance, in essentially four acts and an encore, launched and detonated in a cloud of smoke and stardust.

Act 1 opened songs for ‘Happy Never After’ as the poptastic ‘Drinking With Cupid’ was performed and the venue lights went up and down in response to the chorus as they followed the catchy melody and hook. Then, ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ followed as the duo, Luke Eisner and Gus Ross, made sure everyone was in on the action. Then, ‘Pull The Plug’ and ‘Therapy’ came next. VOILÀ completely engaged the crowd as they chatted and delivered full-on fun.

Charlotte returned and prepared the crowd for Act 2 ‘The Curse of Breathing’. The songs ‘Don't Say I Didn't Warn You’ and ‘Table for One’ were up first. There was a short intermission reset and then ‘Long Story Short’ was played. The huge singalong of ‘Cruel’ came next before VOILÀ stopped and chatted some more and the crowd at the front responded. They were reminded that they were being recorded for posterity. Then, a fan got to choose a song, and it was ‘Kiss & Tell A Phone’ and it was followed by ‘TIC TAC TOE’.

Charlotte came back and it was time for Act 3 ‘Glass Half Empty’. This was the clutch act with the massive hits ‘Voodoo’, ‘Wish It On You’, ‘Dead To Me’ and ‘It’s Got A Ring To It’ performed. VOILÀ were amazing at controlling the energy flow in the crowd. They had command and control of the bouncing, clapping and singing in a venue that was starting to cook.

After 60 minutes, Act 4 ‘The Last Laugh’ commenced and brought out the huge hits of the viciously funny ‘I Hope That It’s Fatal’, ‘FMK!’ and the absolutely fabulous “more issues than” ‘Vogue’. The singalong with the crowd was huge. Yorke came back on stage and helped perform ‘After Hours’ with VOILÀ. It was great to hear the female/male response call of that song. Then, ‘Train Of Thoughts’ closed out the regulation set.

The encore was demanded. The noise in The Triffid was huge. VOILÀ returned to the stage to perform fan favourites ‘Something Blue’, ‘Glass Half Empty’ and ‘Figure You Out’ to the joyful crowd. The lights for ‘Something Blue’ illuminated the room in blue hues as everyone sang and Gus Ross got everyone clapping along to the stomping beat. The highlight of many highlights for the night was the last song ‘Figure You Out’: the crowd had their cameras out, their voices were loud and there was one last sprinkle of magic word stardust from the band.

VOILÀ delivered a spicy, beautiful performance that was a pleasure for the eyes and ears. They have perfected that rockstar energy and stage presence. Their music combined pop, rock, flourishes of punk, metal and electronica in a way that blended naturally. The whole crowd got into the gig. It was playful, joyful and clever. I loved how VOILÀ had their set separated into four different acts, with each act representing one of their albums. It was clever, logical and gave a narrative for fans to follow. It was an amazing 90-minute set that left the crowd enthralled and starstruck.

And, VOILÀ, it was a spectacular and truly magical night.