There was a plain A4 page blue-tacked to the window that simply read, “Little Red. Playing Instore Live” But Polyester was so packed that people were spilling out into the lane. They were looking through the door and through the window, on tippy toes and peeking between heads trying to get a look at who was this band in the store window. The poor Melbourne city folk who had no idea what they were witnessing.

There was one of those giant foam album cover replicas hanging in the window with the five lads posing in front of a white wall which had scrawled on it Listen to Little Red, the cover of their highly anticipated debut album. And just front of that were the boys themselves. There were random flashes as people tried to take photos and everyone was going nuts with applause at the end of each song. In front of the band was a group of people sitting cross-legged on the floor like they were watching a Bob Dylan acoustic set. They had obviously got there early and would not move even if Jesus asked them to.

There was electricity in the air. There were kids there, too young for proper shows, which would never have seen them before that were just soaking up the atmosphere. This was like 10 Christmases in a row! This was the stuff that kids dreamt of happening after seeing Almost Famous. They got to see and meet their fav band at their debut album release.

The band was oblivious to the excited girls and was concentrating on the job at hand. With such an intimate show you could literally feel the energy pierce the air as they thrashed through songs, taking the equipment to the limits of it capabilities. Taka, on the drums, though not his usual playful self, kept the group together with his determined playing. Dom went nuts! He leaping high to Little Anne and when he sang the “wo wo wo WHOA!’ in Speedo you could feel the speakers break and distort just a little. However one of the best songs on the night was Jackie Cooper. Tom stopped the band so the audience can get the “WELLL!” response done properly at the start. That’s it Tom, mould us like putty. When Dom hits the solo you could hear his amp in all its dirty glory and see him rip it out, veins popping in his forearms and hands strained. Adrian really screamed it out during his solos, red faced and sweat dripping. This is exactly what their music is all about! Just five lads bashing out the tunes for the party folk. And they were one of the best at this art, having cut their teeth at many of Melbourne’s smallest stages and cramped rooms.

But even among the sing-along numbers like It’s Alright and Fight Song there were touching moments of reflection and inner turmoil. Quang was just awesome crooning with his southern blues vocal style on Fool. He really shines as a heartbroken blues singer without having the croaky vocals of a 40-year smoker. All the boys channelled 1950’s barstool blues for that one. It felt like you were watching them in some smoky bar at midnight. If the lights hadn’t changed it at least seemed like they had dimmed. Believe in Your Man was another slow blues number that sees Tom utilise his trademark deep vocals. It’s delivered with such power by the band you would have thought they all lost their girlfriends that week. We were also treated to a rare live track that showed off their four part harmonies – So Long, not an easy one, with Tom confessing that they’d struggled with it the day before.

She’s Not the Only One, another big song of Quang’s, roared out from of the amps with a big bang and I could see Adrian smile when it started up. The chorus really leaped from the speakers too with all the boys on mics filling the room to the very edges.

Out to the street, I was amazed by how many people had stopped to have a look and listen. Seemingly mesmerised by the music, they must have been thinking, “Wow! This is great! Who are they?” Even a fire engine paused in the street, the firemen looking in from the truck bopping their heads and having a sing too.

The set finished with Cry Cry and when it ended no one knew what to do. Should we run up to the stars and hug them in some sort of Beatles era craze? Or should we run to the back of the store and buy an album before they sell out? The band eventually packed up and the rest of us just hung around and talked. Plenty of eager punters bought records and got them signed, before finally departing – taking their new favourite album home to give it a first spin.