It takes something special to pack out a club on the coldest of winter nights. In this case something special was the New Zealand band Cut Off Your Hands. Formerly known as Shakey Hands they have forced their ways into the collective Australian indie rock consciousness by a slew of extremely catchy guitar pop singles, such as Still Fond and Oh Girl.
The night begins with similarly catchy locals, Former Child Stars. Playing a lot of new material, they were almost unrecognisable since I last saw them at the Exeter nearly 2 years ago. They have recently supported Sneaky Soundsystem and their new EP produced by Scott Horscroft , who has worked with The Presets, Silverchair and The Panics, and certainly have the potentially for great things to come.
Next up was Brisbane’s Violent Soho. Fresh off their headline tour , supported by similar Melbourne up and comers Reptiles, they were probably the heaviest of the the three bands performing. Their sound has a primal integrity. They are clearly heavily influenced by The Vines and Nirvana, while retaining their own individual aesthetic. Adelaide crowds tend to be fickle particularly when unfamiliar support bands are involved. Fortunately the crowd showed their appreciation for the band. Crowd response was particularly good for their Triple J endorsed single Love Is A Heavy Word. Guitarists Luke Boerdam and James Tidswell keep the howling riffs intense but controlled, perhaps the best grunge revival this side of 1992.
Cut Off Your Hands’ Nick Johnston is almost as famous for his ability to climb from various sound and stage equipment as he is for his skills a vocalist. Similar to the first time they graced Rocket Bar’s in support of Young and Restless, from the get go Nick begins a frantic rampage through the crowd. Immediately getting their attention and transferring his charismatic energy to them. Unlike their first performance where several members of the crowd ignored the band completely even when the lead singer was inches from their faces, the crowd was whipped up to a similar frenzy. Fortunately when he hung from the speaker stacks he didn’t fall off like he did from a 15 foot balcony in the UK last year which shattered his ankle. The music itself was an excellent blend of pop and punk; irresistibly catchy and oozing youthful exuberance. They played a lot of interesting new material off their forth coming album , You and I out in October.
