Off the back of his national support slot for the Kimbra tour, a string of solo shows were arranged around Aus for NY-based, Melbourne expat, Daniel Merriweather, over the past month. These solo shows promptly sold out. I was truly lucky to catch a last minute additional show at the Northcote Social Club on Sunday night.

Admittedly, I find it strange seeing Merriweather up on stage in full control of an adoring audience. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that he was awkwardly trying to rap at open mic nights and usually ending the night in a drunken brawl. I have to admit that I dismissed Merriweather early in his career without ever having heard him sing. How wrong I was! Dude’s first album was an amazing piece of work that achieved some great chart success in Europe but disappointingly (and sadly, predictably) didn’t do so well here in Australia.

Dan Merriweather’s Northcote Social Club performance was the second time I’ve seen him perform live and it was a highlight performance for 2012 so far. Merriweather is refreshingly honest with his audience, openly discussing the motivation and thought process behind his songs and began the night with an admission that he’d just broken up with his girlfriend, stating that his show tonight “could either be really good or really terrible” as a result. Thankfully it was the former. Supported on stage by acoustic guitarist/backing vocalist Nick (sorry but the surname escapes me), Merriweather delivered familiar ballads from his debut album as well as a handful of new songs from his forthcoming EP and even a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Animal. Everything was given to the crowd with effortless vocal power and the defining quality of his repertoire—soul. Upon prompting, the crowd joined in for some of the more familiar songs, and helped to carry a visibly emotional Merriweather through the tail-end of a song about ‘breaking up’. Of course this just furthered the number of female hearts melting throughout the room and I heard statements to the effect of wanting to take the vulnerable singer home for some old-fashioned “care giving”.

Accompanied on stage by his now familiar sidekick Jameson whiskey, Merriweather was at times shaky and unsure of himself, however these moments were brief lapses and despite the dramas of his personal situation, Merriweather didn’t disappoint. A highlight moment was his duet with the lead singer of support act Saskwatch, Nkechi Anele, who is an incredibly talented and powerful vocalist. This duet was just one of many highlights throughout a great night of Melbourne soul.

Here’s hoping for more great things from Daniel Merriweather and hopefully the success that he deserves.