Metro Theatre, February 15 ★★★★

Spinning out solo is a risky move for any band member but Steve Lacy may just have the finesse and precocious charm to pull it off.

The last time Lacy appeared on a Sydney stage, he was one of five in future-funk outfit The Internet. The years of technical exposure and neo-soul influences crafted a seasoned performer out of him: at 21, Lacy has the stylings and self-assuredness of an older, wiser man. With his spangled electric guitar worn high, Lacy grooved his way through a dripping honey-smooth set of indie and alt-R&B largely plucked from last year's debut album, Apollo XXI.

He was originally billed to perform at the more intimate Oxford Art Factory but was upgraded to the Metro. And he sold out that, too. Lacy had just a handful of songs to offer but he gave each one of them space to breathe. His songs unpicked love, his bisexual identity and what it means to constitute a self in the 21st century: "I only feel energy, I see no gender," he sings in Like Me. The moody, electric guitar-infected Dark Red landed perfectly while Outro Freestyle/4ever was layered and complex, even more than in recordings.