Saturday night was a precursor to the summer months ahead with the Canberra club goers well and truly warmed up for Lithium at Transit Bar and Gangbusters at Bar 32.

Canberra’s veteran alternative music event, Lithium, brought together Canberra’s old Goth and indie crew to bang heads and jump around to the usual crowd pleasing tracks including the Prodigy’s Smack My Bitch Up and The Wallflowers’ Tears Of A Clown. It was hot and sweaty and smelt just like Lithium from the Toast days but it probably had something to do with the non breathable fabric in the room. The bar was scattered with various patterns, most notably stripes and tartan splashed with black, white and red. Several ladies busted out in their corsets while one fellow swooped in with a classic cape. One seasoned Lithium goer dug deep into his childhood nightmares and makeup kit to recreate the freaky clown look that caught a few people off guard. This quality quarterly event brought out decent numbers but it was certainly quieter than the last Lithium when the crowd was lining up out the door. Maybe it is getting too hot for the polyester outfits to venture out at this time of year but let’s hope we would have acclimatised to the heat for the next Lithium in a few months time.

Meanwhile, at the other end of Civic, Shakedown DJs pumped out a stash of pop trash, indie goodness and dance your butt off tunes from TLC, Weezer, TV On The Radio, PNAU and many more. As usual, the crowd slowly gathered momentum, occasionally getting up to dance to their favourite Bloc Party or Presets track. Some made use of the “podium” to draw attention to themselves or perhaps it was an attempt to entice the kids to the dance floor but the as the night drew on the pretty young things rolled in. You can tell summer is approaching as the lovely ladies slip into their short “I can almost see your undies if you are wearing any” dresses and sunnies indoors. It seems purple flannel shirts are in too. In fact there were two guys wearing the same shirt – oh dear – and one (DJ) had to go home to get changed. The rising temperature couldn’t be controlled by the Bar 32 electric fans, prompting shake-downers to take the occasional breather outside. Those fans are going to struggle to keep the bar cool in summer so put away your emo scarf and bring out your hankies to wipe the sweat off your brow next time you hit the bar.