Last Saturday night, The Grace Darling was taken over by a swarm of young punks coming together to celebrate some of our city’s finest local bands. Both the upstairs stage and the basement were used to create a mini festival of sorts that worked perfectly with the staggered set times.
I arrived at the venue just as Melbourne’s latest garage geniuses Cable Ties were gearing up. The crowd was already high in numbers as I pushed my way to the back to gain a little clarity. My view was completely obscured but I could hear the band chew through their set with plenty of venom. There is such great chemistry between this three-piece, their style is well defined and their songs have scope and meaning.
Shrimpwitch opened their set to a quiet room upstairs, with just a few straggling between the bar and the stage area. Though by the time they got a few songs into their set they held a steady crowd captive with their weirdo punk music. I love this band, they are so full of charisma and charm that at times it can seem like an in joke, but they back it up with great songs.
Back downstairs, The Only Boys began. A newish band made up of members of other Melbourne acts, they’ve taken time to perfect their ideas and tonight they sounded like a band performing at their peak. Like all the bands tonight, they play punk rock music but there is a goofiness to their frenetic energy that helps their steamy garage frustrations. Frontwoman Annaliese Redlich had lost her voice prior to the show and was sending out sincere apologies to a packed crowd. But there was no need for this, her husky delivery married perfectly with the band’s energetic performance.
I raced back upstairs to watch Hi-Tec Emotions. There are no guitars in the band, which is incredibly refreshing, they instead use a keyboard and sharp, punchy drums with a heavy bass to achieve their bold new wave sound. But it’s the vocals that will get you hooked, full of grace and power.
Brat Farrar were the final act playing downstairs in the basement, a space now tightly packed. The band was clearly revelling in this as they punched out their brand of high octane punk. They have a song called Punk Rock Records that they’ve been playing for years, but I’ve never heard it sound as vital as it did tonight.
And finally Customer, another new-ish band that have only been around for a matter of months, but have achieved a great deal in that time. They played upstairs with everyone in a celebratory mood after so much great music. Their set was full of catchy hooks and wild guitar solos, making them instantly likeable.
BY ALEX PINK
LOVED: The mini festival vibe.
HATED: Not a lot.
DRANK: Booze and happiness.
