Melbourne indie-punks Great Outdoors kicked things off with a brace of songs from their latest full-length Fake News, with single Partways getting a good reaction from the early bird crowd. However, it was Keep Your Focus which highlighted the set, with the song’s frenetic energy translating well to the live environment. The trio’s onstage presence was like watching a loungeroom jam, as they effortlessly swapped instruments and had a dig at a late-arriving mate (who they’d totally wasted a door spot on). After a few more cuts from the record, the band brought their set to a close and graciously introduced the next act.
“A little tip in support bands,” said Jez MacAllister in British comedy series Young Person’s Guide to Becoming a Rockstar. “Make sure they’re total crap.” Evidently, he wasn’t referring to No Sister. The Melbourne-based post-punk quartet sounded like Dr. Doom angle-grinding a Rough Trade compilation. As they skewered their guitars with screwdrivers, drumsticks and God knows what else, the band chiselled out songs from their 2016 debut, as well as previewing three tracks from their forthcoming follow-up, which the band had just recorded that day. If No Sister continue on this trajectory, they’re going to make one almighty mark on Melbourne’s live scene.
Still, as the bandroom packed out in increasing anticipation, there was no doubt who everyone had turned up for. Lowtide got a glowing welcome as they took the stage and almost immediately, the crowd was rewarded with a beautiful rendition of the band’s Asylum Party cover, Julia. Through the dreamy haze of Gabriel Lewis’ billowing guitar squalls, guitarist Lucy Buckeridge and bassist Giles Simon pitched ephemeral harmonies that seemed to swell up from beneath the noise like a phantom lover emerging from blood-stained floorboards.
The band also used the evening as a chance to show off their latest single, Alibi, and it was there that drummer Anton Jakovljevic displayed just how much his understated rhythms drive the music forward and provide structure and ornamentation to the arrhythmic washes of celestial harmonics. The band finished on 2015’s B-side-cum-single Spring, with its motoring rhythm and Sesame-Street-inspired refrain of “One of these days is just like the others,” closing the set with a heartbreaking finality that had their mesmerised fans missing them already.
Highlight: No Sister guitarist Mino Peric’s screeching microphone slide solo.
Lowlight: Giles Simon’s occasional ‘harmony hunting’ à la This is Spinal Tap.
Crowd Favourite: Julia.
