All the scenester children have come out to play tonight, not wanting to miss a couple of their hometown favourites: Twist Oliver, Twist! and Stature::Statue. Headlining tonight’s gig is the much hyped Melbournian/Canberran act, Young and Restless (Y&R). The Zoo is awash with big hair, girl’s skinny jeans and op-shop chic. We’re in for a stylish evening…
The Zoo is almost half-packed by the time Twist Oliver, Twist hop up to intro the show. Their set is full of what the kids have come to expect from the trio – slick, melodical synth-pop-rock – and the punters dig it. The Duran-Bowie-Depeche-Presets sounding outfit fiddle their synth knobs and bang away like chimps in cages. It’s a good warm up for the crowd as they loosen their muscles in preparation for the rock-reaming they’re about to receive. As the Twists leave the stage and head to the bar for a beverage I catch a snippet of ‘…pretty happy with that…’ from the drummer, Thomas Roche. Fair call.
Next up are the boys affectionately known in certain circles as ‘The Fuzzies’: or in real circles, Stature::Statue. These kids have really been making a mark for themselves… well… since they hooked up – and tonight is no exception. The now sizable crowd moves right up close to get in on the action as Luke begins to fling himself around the stage, pong-style. During the second track, he and his guitar whip out a move that can only be described as ‘Baby Angus on Speed’. The boys smile at each other, and seem to be having a genuinely good time. They just love to stand out in the line up at a gig. Halfway through, somehow the songs start amalgamating into each other. Not to be taken as a negative, though – as they wah-wah and flick around the sound is fantastic. Some say they’re overrated. I say they know how to get on stage, have some fun, and be entertaining.
Spotting Young and Restless’ Karina Utomo in the crowd prior to performance, she looks very relaxed and composed (not expecting anything less, of course), but from the get-go of their set she turns into a screaming banshee from hell! She is rock’n’roll gorgeous in a sparkling silver shift and black skinnys: her, dare I say ‘trademark’ Pantene black hair swinging like a pendulum. Kids begin to cram the front of the stage and on the second track there’s hands and bottles in the air, and limbs starting to flail. Third track in and Karina has no trouble competing with the thumping, screeching music; this girl is so mesmerising that I have to refocus to check out the rest of the band.
The boys are doing an amazing job, the guitarists getting right up the front and giving the audience what they want straight to their face. I Pointed at You and You Burst Into Flames are an obvious favourites, followed by Police Police, during which the front crowd becomes a mass of heaving, sweaty bodies. Karina sees this, and takes the opportunity to throw herself upon it. It’s a pretty amazing sight, seeing her tiny frame arched, limbs in the air, no shoes on, screaming into the microphone. It gets a roomful smiles, and there’s no shortage of hands to hold her up. After this, it’s a free-for-all of screaming dance-rock and sweaty bodies; the kids up the back seem content to maintain their distance and bop away in their own. The band decide after a couple more numbers that it’s time to drop their gear and vacate the stage, leaving the audience completely hanging. Is that a fashionable thing to do these days or what? Stature::Statue seem to love pulling the same trick… the ‘Throwdown Exit’. That aside, Y&R grace the stage once more after a short but noisy protest. Throughout the entire set the band don’t indulge in much contact with each other – they seem to prefer to feed off the crowd’s energy. And so on it rumbles. This time after a screaming, paint peeling finish, the band is happy to quickly shake hands with the front of the crowd, all smiling with appreciation for the other.
Not only are they stylish – they’re energetic, charming and very talented. All the best for the future, Young & Restless.
