Antony & the Johnsons – 5 December 2005 – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London

Going to a live concert, and hearing the artist replicate their latest record note-for-note is never that big a deal. Indeed, many artists this year have even played the silent bits between songs when they’re supposed to be wowing the crowds (you know who you are, Interpol). But, on second album “I Am a Bird Now,” when Antony Heggarty’s mesmeric, fragile voice comes out of the ether, it’s almost impossible to think that such a sound could actually exist.

Within minutes of the unreal-looking and -sounding Antony taking the stage, a feeling that something a little different is going to happen sets in. The request from the artist for “complete silence during the performance” is honoured by all and sundry to the point that the sticky floor behind the bars gets irritating.

Of course, plaudits like the Mercury Music Prize and high appearances in most best of the year charts could go to a person’s head. But the boy seems pretty impressed by the size of the sell-out crowd. “Gosh, there are so many of you,” he swoons.

Approaching halfway through the 90-minute set, enter Boy George for his duet on “You Are My Sister.” It’s the nearest we get to a sing-along, finished off with George heaping praise on the critically-lauded Antony. “Every time I hear his voice, it breaks my heart,” he says. Judging by the year Antony’s had, few would disagree with the sentiment. Add the soaring “Fistfull of Love” and a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “The Guests,” and the sticky feet start to sound like they’re almost tapping along now.

Of course, such reverence and silence risks sailing too close to arch-y and arty territory, and a technical glitch leads to a near-tantrum moment for the singer, something he openly acknowledges to the crowd, at least. “Sorry, I came over a bit Mariah Carey there,” he says.

So hearing the album almost exactly as it is – big shakes, huh? In this instance, though, it actually is a big shake. That voice can’t be real. But, listen, it is. This is the sound of people trying brand new things for the first time, and the World is a better place for it.