The lads danced around some early technical difficulties with a quick round of trivia played over a jolly riff keeping the crowd, lets say, mildly amused. After one question, one undelivered prize of free drinks and one new cable, the set was back on track with punters barely noticing the skipped beat. With an obvious hip-hop influence, percussion dominated the onstage activity, with all but one band member taking up their drumsticks for momentous all-in drum beatings in The Woods. Once they’d beaten the shit out of their tubs like Neanderthals, their dance-inducing beats were kept alive with tambourines, maracas and cowbells. Gold Fields’ epic instrumentals, accompanied by a well-produced light show got people rolling up their skinny jeans and fervently moving. If you didn’t notice how charming the Gold Fields boys were already, one look at the front row of overdressed, starry-eyed girls simply hoping to be eye-fucked by the band surely proved it.
Their inspired lyrics are fun, and if their insane drum-and-bass combo, or their crooning wails didn’t already have your feet moving and your head bopping, Treehouse had everyone clumsily clapping their hands along. Insane drum smashing, the nostalgic sounds of synths, the innocent delightfulness of maracas and tambourines, and fun, catchy lyrics – there’s a lot to love.
The Holidays might have toned it down on the drums and left the heavy bass out, but they definitely kept the mood high. Kitted out in almost-matching vintage shirts and soulful, brooding expressions, it didn’t take long before they warmed up their faces and voices and began hitting their high notes with a smile.
With studio-perfect vocals and spot on finger-work with some pretty crazy sounds coming from the likes of steel drums and synthesisers, the Sydney-siders played a solid set like seasoned veterans, rather than the single-album newcomers they are.
Though there was a feeling of love through the whole set, it was 2 Days that brought the crazy smiles to faces and a whole lot of jumping and grinding to the dancefloor and Broken Bones changed the tempo, turning the crowd into a swaying field of cheery fans.
