The perfect way to start a new university semester, or have a boogie to some local Aussie talent, or both. With performances by Dardanelles, Bluejuice and Van She, there was something for everyone.
The Jezabels started the night with a solid set. Notable features were the thunderous rolling drums and some ear-piercing guitar chords. Along with the vocals reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick, these guys offered a promising start to the evening.
Melbourne four-piece The Dardanelles followed with their intense atmospheric sounds, blending in electro, punk and industrial. They commenced with an eerie Orbital sound, which drew the crowd to the stage. As the dark brooding sounds turned into unforgiving beats, the crowd were pumped for the rest of the night.
The Dardanelles have an exciting new perspective to offer, mixing solid industrial drilling beats with emotional tones. At times, though, it felt unnecessary to throw everything into the mix for the sake of doing so, as the direction and style of the song was already perfectly captured. The Dardanelles gave an impressive live set that never failed to surprise with its musical diversity.
When Sydney hip-hop outfit Bluejuice started to perform, the top floor of Manning Bar was full to the brim. These guys really know how to make an impact. It is always interesting when a group fronts the stage without a guitar player and two very different characters on vocals.
Their range of styles were reminiscent of Cat Empire, Limp Bizkit, 28 Days and The Herd, while also giving their own concoction of hip-hop, metal, funk and gospel.
These boys didn’t just sing and play – they performed. The showmanship of Jake Stone and Stav Yiannoukas could not be ignored. As the wild antics of stage diving, crazy dancing and strutting around on stage kept the crowd wanting more, Jerry Craib on keys carried the tracks with a jazzy gospel flavour. Accompanied by Jamie Cibej and Ned Molesworth on bass and drums respectively, they put together some funky party numbers.
The crowd whipped itself into a state of frenzy as soon as the boys started to play – with limbs flailing everywhere – and didn’t stop until the end of their set.
Below, the Potbelleez were providing their own funky style of electro pop and house. The party at Manning was building. Outside a tent provided another pumping sound system and a crowd getting down. The tent was lit up with multi-coloured light globes – the whole atmosphere was that of a tropical summer holiday away.
Damn Arms were next on upstairs. A slow synthy number eventually turned into a militant sound. As the drums slammed, the bassist and guitarist were complimenting each other, demonstrating great musicianship between the band. These guys were pulling off a tight set. Eventually it appeared as though persistent technical problems got the better of them, even with a replaced keyboard on stage.
Bursting with eighties synth-pop, with post-punk and funk into the mix, Van She finally graced us with their presence. The crowd was ready to be washed with psychedelic retro electro.
They started their set with the single Sex City, this time dominated by drums. It was a nice live touch. Only into the second number, the crowd started going bananas for the synth. These guys took yesteryear and spat it out with a their own perfected brand of nostalgia.
With Matt Van Schie’s hair peroxided like a beacon, the bass player carried the tracks with Tomek Archer on drums. Nick Routledge crooned to the audience while Michael Di Francesco brought the synth magic. With rock and electro pounding through the top of Manning, the crowd was electric. Through heartfelt-soft and rocky dance numbers, the people loved it all, especially since there was little time to come up for air. You didn’t know when one track finished and the other one started.
Throughout the night, the lag between shows lost crowd momentum considerably, even with the DJs playing upstairs and downstairs. It started to look like a high school disco in between bands. Oh, and by the way – where was the beach ball?
