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Tuesday. January 19. Summertime! Or so you thought. It was a freakishly cool evening at the Tuggeranong Youth Centre which played host to the Boys Of Summer 2010. Spending any amount of time in Canberra means you will experience its bipolar nature when it comes to temperature. Luckily Mary Jane Kelly, House Vs Hurricane, 50 Lions and guests to our country; Every Time I Die did not have to brave through the usual summer heat. The change of weather however, was very welcome and made hoodie sales very profitable.

Four bands, four hours and yet, Mary Jane Kelly and the other support bands only had twenty five minute slots. The over enthusiastic band from Wollongong played to an unenthusiastic crowd. Not even Folding Seas and Lonely Deaths from their reclaimed EP or a new song from their upcoming record could entice the crowd to move more than their feet. The under-appreciated act still presented a solid set regardless of the crowd’s involvement.

Security was all over the venue when House Vs Hurricane took the stage. The previously stiff crowd finally loosened up to the Melbourne six piece. It might have been the addition of synth or the trembling bass that really knocked the crowd about but even through the awkward silence of tuning guitars in-between songs, the mass would not stop quivering. And so, they continued. Chris on vocals gave the crowd opportunities for mic grabs during The Only Virtue and the drummer made his job look all too easy through their short set. Their intricate introductions made their shirts more predominant in the crowd and many walked away with their EP, Forfeiture.

Five beasts prowled on stage. Ruffled by the noise from House Vs Hurricane the monsters awoke and 50 Lions begun their feeding frenzy. The vicious crowd were like feral animals, tearing up the poor wooden floor with their spastic dancing. Security loomed over the unstable crowd while the huge men brought back some good old solid hardcore. The quick thundering bass was outmatched by the blaring twin guitars. While the drummer was back keeping time, vocalist Oscar McCall was taming the overwhelming crowd. A huge pit was fenced off for the wild running animals, they charged at each other like bulls, trying to tear chunks off each other. The band continued to flay the creatures with their music until they finally switched off their amps and left the crowd panting on the floor.

The time had come for the first large international hardcore band of the year to play in Canberra. Every Time I Die entered the room and took their stance on the pitiful stage. The crowd had pushed forward up toward the ring of cables and dangerously close to the band’s monitors. They kicked off with Roman Holiday off their new album New Junk Aesthetic and spiralled into a chaos never seen before in the tiny Youth Centre. Fights broke out between security and violent dancers while Keith’s scratching vocals rang through the speakers, and like a light, attracted more of the crowd to move forward and onto the stage. The playing area was now reduced to a small corner in the venue and both guitarists found themselves unable to move against the swaying tide of unmovable bodies.

The poor single security guard gave up trying to contain the pit away from the monitors but as the band struck up the classic riff belonging to The New Black, the crowd overwhelmed the band. The room grew hot and condensation started to build up against the glass. Andy was dripping sweat onto his guitar and by the end of the night, he had his very own pool underneath his feet. There was an abundance of dancing. The band was constantly moving and a single bloke in the middle of the pit impressed crowds with his – œEating Cereal’, – œLook at my Balls’ and – œThrusting’ dance moves while the hardcore dancers kicked around him.

The evening ended with the satisfied crowd stumbling outside, vividly re-enacting the last four hours in their minds. Another successful Boys of Summer has passed and Canberrans can look forward to Boys of Summer – œ11 and wonder what monster acts they will bring this city.

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