After hitting the Toff in Town to launch their release of album number one, The Last Party, it’s most certainly fair to say that Melbourne are lucky to have pinched The Hampdens from Perth. Following on from their recent residency at the gorgeous Melbourne venue, The Hampdens returned and pulled a full house, with a couple of locals to aid them along the way.
Stepping out from the drum kit of Evermore, Dann Hume opened to the room of slightly increasing numbers. His strangely hesitant stage presence actually gave Hume a type of quirkiness that went well with his short-story-like song writing, though certain numbers went for far too long on very few chords and began to grate after a while. Still, he managed to keep the crowd entertained with mid-song jokes.
The often cheeky Greasers were up next, though they chose to soften their set list a little to suit the theme of the headliners. Barely unable to contain his usual jittering stage antics, it wasn’t long before Dominic Byrne was jumping and running around the stage though – almost falling over himself in an attempt to entertain. Their brash song Shelly ensured the three piece – who were also featuring a ski-goggles-clad saxophonist at the time – left their trademark song writing behind on the unsuspecting crowd.
The Hampdens appeared decked in all white as the curtains were drawn for their appearance and Susannah Legge began their glorious introduction – consisting of simply her vocal and simple guitar accompaniment. Just as The Hampdens had drawn the audience into the gentle sounds, the kit was hit hard and Social Suicide began, immediately (yet somewhat ironically) perking up both the band and the crowd. Asleep On The Lawn followed to a big reception of appreciation and from there the show continued with tracks from their May release of The Last Party.
Legge’s vocals were by far the stand out of The Hampdens performance at the Toff. Her vocal ability saw movement between a slightly accented strain (similar to Missy Higgins, but a little more subtle) and angelic high notes, which were almost whispered at times but more-or-less flawless. Keyboardist Jules Hewitt got his chance to shine when he jumped up centre stage during one of Legge’s hand clapping moments to take over lead vocals for a verse, though for the most part the band seemed almost as though they were there simply to accompany Legge – a fact somewhat pointed out when she noted the only guitar solo in the whole show came from a cover.
The cover in question was Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon, which The Hampdens performed as though it were their own – the folk rock classic perfectly suited to their own style. An untitled new track and the closer for the set, Generation Y, were the other high points of the evening, each showcasing the great song writing of the band and each complemented by both the sound quality and elegance of the Toff itself, which is perhaps why the band chose to return to the venue of their now home town for the launch.
