Little Red @ The Manning Bar,Sydney Uni (23/10/08)

Mon 27th Oct, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Breaking the shackles of university studies for the night is always good for the soul – and after a cheap bottle of red it’s even better. Little Red was back in town on their ‘Uni Tour’ and the students flocked for a night of dancing and frivolity.

Getting your groove on early wasn’t too difficult a task with support bands The Mischief and Cloud Control. The Mischief came out sounding a lot like Dallas Crane, and for the first band of the night they were solidly good fun. The dancefloor may have been empty, but it was good rock and roll music, the way it should be played.

Cloud Control was the next on stage with their mixture of folk and indie-pop. Buffalo Country was the highlight to finish off the show. Whilst they were enjoyable, it felt as if the lead singer was the one drawing attention, and the rest of the band receded into the background.

Headlining the show were those – œdoo wop punksters’ all the way from Melbourne Town, Little Red. Kicking the show off with Stare In Love and melting straight into Witchdoctor, it was obvious that the months of touring have made them into a really slick outfit. Tom Hartney’s husky vocals again made the ladies swoon, and most other men feeling that little less manly in his stage presence.

The night was full of new songs, hopefully taken for a prospective album. Most gigs filled with unheard songs leave the fans wanting more hits; however these were just as enjoyable as the tracks off the debut album Listen to Little Red.

Personal highlights included Believe In Your Man with its rough blues edge, Jackie Cooper, which saw the crowd singing along in harmony and final song of the night It’s Alright. The showstopper, though, is still Coca Cola. So much fun and joy in just over two minutes of music is hard to beat – and the band’s movements onstage (including the stage invasion from a few of the more excited fans) were great to watch.

The sheer enjoyment of watching Little Red play live is multiplied by the fact that they really do want to engage with their audience. The odd chat and a smiling face is all the crowd really wants. You can see that after all this touring the band is still enjoying the music, and enjoying making people dance and move.