Who would bother going out to Civic on a cold windy Monday night? Not your girlfriend, not your boyfriend, definitely your grandma and not even your hardcore music loving best friend. There are so few that would, and that is probably the answer to why a majority of Canberra folk believe that there is “no good local music.”

One can only assume that this “no good music scene” is because Canberra is too cold to go out. They also believe good live music is only available at the end of the week, but that’s not entirely true. There’s a lot of fresh, undiscovered talent waiting to be found. Stroll around the city on a Monday and you’ll probably find almost everything is shut, except the Phoenix Bar near the bus interchange.

It was a chilly ten degrees outside for those outside, yet for those inside were warmed them up with some sweet indie-folk tunes from brother and sister duo Marianne & Jonathan Mettes. It was the Phoenix’s Bootleg Sessions, and for those unaware, Marianne was on the acoustic guitar and harmonica. Jonathan backing up the vocals and playing a mean djembe (which is a hand drum for those who don’t know).

Marianne’s vocals have been described by some Phoenix audience members to be similar to that of Kate Nash, both sharing a very indie girl feel. From the two, they both seem to express themselves through the same sort of quirky, heart felt lyrics splashed with a wonderful melody.

The two both played some beautiful tunes some may recognise, both complimenting each other. Blue Eyes, Mr Cauliflower, were favourites, but the one that really stood out was I Feel Too Much. It is one of those songs you know that is going to find its way into the charts.

Marianne got the audience screaming “Shit!” at her. It was not because she was bad at playing guitar or singing. It was just Marianne getting the audience involved with one of her songs. Mediocre Shit was definitely the song which took the trophy for the night. The audience loved it.

Marianne and her brother Jonathan are an excellent example of Canberra’s best local music. As cliché as it sounds, there is no doubt that these two are going to go far.

If you’re cool paying $7 bucks for a beer, and all you care about right now is feeding your ears with some new sounds (like Marianne and Jonathan); check out the Phoenix Bar’s Monday Night Bootleg Sessions. You can’t go wrong. Get out there, there is a 7 day week of acts ready to happen.