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In an otherwise cold and empty Capital on Thursday night Transit Bar was full to the brim with patrons stripping off their winter coats and discarding them for a night of pure folk rock.

Canberran folk band Julia & The Deep Sea Sirens kicked off the night while crowds bombarded the bar to stock up on beer and find their location for the evening. With so many patrons once a position was found there would be no relocating and a silent good luck was wished upon anyone who needed to make their way to the bathroom. Their hit and miss set included their brand new single, Little Surprises, described by front woman, Julia Johnson, as “a song about little surprises,” from their up and coming album to be released in September.

You Am I front man, Tim Rogers, set the stage alight when he and his self proclaimed, “swinging folk rock collective” stepped up. Rogers provided his once hometown crowd with a detailed blueprint of how to be a rock star. The comical relief of the green velvet jacket wearing front man, referring to the patrons standing on chairs as his “top row,” could have made for a stand up show on its own. Songs were dedicated to the likes of local drug dealers, sound guys who had been picked up from small country towns where they worked at petrol stations and “all the romantic fuckers out there.” And when the glass runs empty no need to refill, the bottle is much better for sharing around the stage.

Playing a collective mix of old and new Rogers opened with the heartbreaking Paragon Cafe. Followed up by a whole set of foot tapping, head nodding, sing-a-long worthy tunes from albums, Ghost Songs, What Rhymes With Cars and Girls and his most recent release, The Luxury of Hysteria. Jimmy’s Delicate Condition was the first song to make the small crowd roar. Although this was quickly showed up by You’ve Been Good to Me So Far, the standout song of the set. Described by Rogers as a ‘Canberra remix’ starring a hypnotic cello solo. Other notable crowd favourites included, I left My Heart All Over the Place and Arse Kickin’ Lady from The Northwest. The audience had been begging for some You Am I classics and their wishes we’re granted with Heavy Heart.

Finishing the night with the fitting, Goodnight Boys, the crowd was clarly not ready to go home. Roaring, stomping, cheering and clapping their way to an encore performed by a now exhausted and intoxicated band. The one song return was well worth the sore throats of the crowd as they played The Songs They Played as I Drove Away.

Ending the night with a bang, if the crowd had their way, Rogers would’ve played well in to the early hours of the morning, but even rockstars can only drink so much red wine before they need to take a seat.

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