Shady Haze of Winter was an ironically titled tour name, given that the three bands on the bill were all far more suited to summer time. In a sort of pre-launch fashion, Hungry Kids of Hungary led the three acts to give Melbourne town a little warmth on a much cooler Friday night.

First to play were Auckland’s Artisan Guns, who immediately struck the right chord (so to speak) by showing they were enjoying themselves – a sentiment that seemed mutual in the crowd of those early enough to see them (given the show sold out, this showing was quite healthy). Artisan Guns’ material was varied, though a recurring theme in quite a few songs was the “start like a ballad / take off like a rock song” approach. With plenty of movement and awkward banter, the Kiwis did a fine job of kicking off the night.

With the oh-so-cheesy Take My Breath Away blaring out in the darkened East Brunswick Club, The Holidays appeared on stage amidst a flurry of primary colours, like the headliners they believed themselves to be. And they proceeded to play that way, as well; loving every moment on stage and taking the full opportunity to show off the catchiness of songs from their yet to be released debut.

Fully acknowledging that it’s difficult to pay attention to a bunch of songs you don’t know, The Holidays actually did a really good job of engaging the full room, and keeping it that way. There was certainly no repetition in their set, as they flicked between Caribbean influenced guitar hooks, funky synthesizer work, percussion onslaughts (four on drums at one time) and some straight edged rock, too. Like Artisan Guns before them, The Holidays weren’t sitting on their hands, with each member putting in their full work out into the set.

Two out of two was a good start. Now for the headliners.

Curtains drawn, Hungry Kids of Hungary stood still across the stage in a deceptive moment of placidness and “ooh-ing”, before eventually kicking things off with Set It Right. The EBC was certainly packed by this stage, and immediately the room ignited their voice for the chorus. Hungry Kids responded by amping up their energy and were quite obviously happy with the reception, grinning big time.

If there’s a local band that’s stolen the country’s cache of “doos” “woos” and “oos”, it’s these guys – the pop vocal sounds appearing in more or less every song. Not that it’s a bad thing, quite in contrary; these are the sound effects of happiness for Hungry Kids and they just seem to constantly make use of this elation in their song writing. And every time, the crowd responds in (gleeful) kind.

This show was announced to not only be Hungry Kids’ first sold out show in Melbourne, but also the first to sell out of frisbees. That’s right, stop track – the merch desk was selling frisbees (and here we were thinking tea towels were all the rage at the moment). Apparently, the band’s usual mid-show frisbee toss had injured a girl’s face in Brisbane. True or not, the toys had finished for now.

Song of the night was a battle between Scattered Diamonds (“We’re gonna play a song you know”), and new single Wristwatch, which in all its Vampire Weekend-sounding glory proved to be the most positive sounding of the set. Regardless of favourites, judging by the crowd singing at the top of their voices to most songs, it’s safe to say Hungry Kids have got the tunes to keep them around for a while; and now they’re selling out headline shows, that’s bound to happen.

An encore ensued at the end of the night when the bass was left to drone. For this, though, the band weren’t keeping to themselves and invited whoever felt like it to join them on stage (I think it’s something about the EBC, but people always seem to end up on stage with the bands there). With a good 25 people dancing away, Hungry Kids finished up with Lenny and Good Times – the final number being a testament to night and to Hungry Kids’ gigs in general; “let the good times roll” indeed.

CHECK OUT PHOTOS FROM THE NIGHT HERE