George Maple has just set the bar for live shows. Actually, let me scrap that. She’s just changed the whole entire game. The songstress is already one of Australia’s leading electronic-pop artists and she’s no stranger to the touring circuit with sold out club tours and massive festival spots under her belt as well as opening for Lorde on her recent “Melodrama Tour”. But no one has seen her the way that her “Lover Tour” introduces her. The 1 hour production sees her transforming from the queen of the club circuit to an arena ready diva. Kicking off the tour in Brisbane the packed crowd eagerly awaited her arrival as the lights dimmed, the stage was set with fog, two dancers emerged and a video introduction began. Strutting her way onto the stage Ms Maple welcomed the crowd with title track “Lover” with big strobe lights paving her way as she moved her way around the stage. She then launched straight into “Sticks And Horses” which had the crowd in full singalong mode and had some even on other peoples shoulders.

Throughout the night she played fan favourites from her debut album like “Buried” and “Kryptonite” and had the crowd dancing all night long. But she also showed a more intimate side with the vulnerable ballads “Hold Me By The Waist” and “Slow Dancing” which showcased her powerful vocals. But the whole night I was in awe of the crazy production that visually had you speechless. From the video interludes to the lighting to the costumes it was all very extravagant and I loved it. At time’s it felt a little extra but that’s what made the show feel so special. You felt like you were exclusively witnessing an arena show in a small theatre and I coudn’t get my head around it. “Gemini” saw the crowd explode as the strobe lights nearly gave every epilepsy but it was worth it.

“Talk Talk” also became a special little moment in the show where she sang at the crowd and they sang back to her just as enthusiastically. The whole time you could tell just how grateful and ecstatic she was that she was finally sharing this visual experience with the world and I just hope she gets to take it further than Australia. Closing the show with an euphoric medley of “Hero” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” she had the crowd screaming and pleading for more and something tells me they will all be purchasing tickets to her next show as soon as the pre-sale is announced. No one in the Australian music scene does a show that was even close to that level of pop perfection.