Last Friday night was the first night in a long time that I had really wished I had worn more clothes. Leaving the house with only a T-shirt on, the cold weather hit roughly two minutes after I’d gotten off the train. I spent most of my drinking money at an Op-shop in Collingwood on a crappy set of used fingerless gloves and a flannelette shirt that smelt like it had taken the life from a severely old person. Feeling like a penniless Macklemore, I walked down Smith St towards the Grace Darling Hotel and pondered the irony of the unexpected cold weather and the fact that I was about to watch the summery, feel-good indie pop creationists Swim Season.
After a small altercation with the lovely door person who insisted I was not actually on the door, I finally made my way through, my ears were pleasantly spiked by the indie rock sounds of Reika. This quartet of lads from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne have been proving themselves a relevant and must-see act by relentlessly slamming the live scene. Their music is great, and their live show is even better. It’s no wonder they’ve managed to score gigs with such esteemed Australian acts like Northeast Party House, Last Dinosaurs and Shannon Noll.
Up next were Sydney band Bad Pony, whose indie pop tunes had the entire room in awe from the get go. A moustached man told me in the front bar that they were a must see act tonight, and he wasn’t lying. Their songs were equal parts catchy, upbeat, entertaining and impressive.
Finally, Swim Season hit the stage to a sold-out room at 10.45pm. Being the hometown heroes of the night, the crowd were screaming their band name before they started and the patron’s feet did not stop moving for the entire set. The band played popular songs from their Cascades EP, including their single Gold Cloak City which had enjoyed a moment of spotlight on triple j the week prior. Charismatic frontman James Seymour expressed his joy multiple times in watching the crowd perspire as drummer Jonathan Ferrari kept the backbone of their indie pop tunes alive with impressive drumming chops. Swim Season are a band that demand attention. Their music and live show is one unmatched by any band I’ve seen on a local level in Melbourne. But what really captured me was the vibe in the room. It was hard to know at times if I was seeing a local band at a pub or watching a crowd favourite on the main stage at Splendour in the Grass. People were sitting on shoulders, lyrics were being sung with passion and partygoers danced until they could no more. The set finally came to an end, only to start again with a fan-lead encore. It was the perfect end to an impressive show. A testament, really, to their ever growing notoriety and fanbase.
LOVED: The vibe in the room
HATED: The amount of top knots
DRANK: Other peoples beers
BY AL DENTE
