The Evelyn hosted an energetic pop punk flavour on Saturday night and for the young bands playing in front of a home crowd with local support, it is just what was needed for a fun and chilled night. It was a solid night of rock and punk infused pop that kept the younger crowd entertained like a shot of red bull and the overall energy of the night kept the heat inside and the Melbourne Winter cold at bay.
The crowd started off small and was warmed up by I am Sparticus’s lead gutiar and vocals to introduce their tracks, Animal and May Day. The drums are strong and its great to see someone who’s prepared for their set.
Capeside, the 6 piece band supposedly acting as ‘an institution that serves a purpose for every individual’, were energetic and in tune. The token rock chick on the keys and the energy of the lead singer gave their set a well deserved energy resembling something catchy and memorable. Money In The Bank was a highlight from this unsigned band to complement the headliner.
Ripping it up live to showcase the new EP, Collidescope, the Stealing O’Neal guys thanked their support and launched into their single release, Collide. It’s a track leading to full bodied guitar and its straight down the line with a solid drum back beat from Ryan and catchy vocals. After Lullaby, The Sandlot and some new songs the crowd was brought back to life with the cover of The Arctic Monkey’s, Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor. The simple paired back style of Chris’ vocals accompanied by Jack on acoustic style guitar and backing vocals made it a clear stand out of the night. It also gave the other members a brief moment to re-group backstage after a solid performance for such a young band before closing with the straight up pop song, Chin Up Baby and the older track Bedroom Eyes.
The headliners performed well and their conversational interaction with their home crowd is to be expected. However they have just touched the tip of the ice berg and the live circuit is set to make them mature seasoned performers, so long as they don’t peak too early or try to sound like everyone else. Their sound is fresh, but they need to keep pushing the barriers in terms of song writing and hard hitting drum beats set them apart from the current merry-go-round of pop-punk infused hits being churned out by their contemporaries.
