Hungry Kids of Hungary, TheChemist, Andy Bull, Daniel LeeKendall @ ANU Bar (20/5/11)

Mon 23rd May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It was said just last week that the ANU Bar hosted a large crowd at their most recent gig, if that were the case, Friday night was overflowing. The ANU bar hosted one of the best all-male lineups to be seen in these parts to date.

Kicking off the show at a very early 8:30pm was indie-pop singer songwriter, Daniel Lee Kendall. Hailing from Bensville on the Central Coast of New South Wales, the seemingly shy and sometimes speechless musician performed the most unexpected show of the evening. With both heartfelt and heartbreaking lyrics backed by beautiful melodies, he makes himself hard to dislike. With all three acts to follow being more known by the audience, Kendall had to pull out an amazing show to even grab just an ounce of the praise he deserved. He did exactly this, without even breaking a sweat. Finishing up a short set with sweet pop tune Lost In The Moment, title track from his debut EP, Kendall grabbed the audience by the hearts with no sign of letting go.

Andy Bull was next to grace the stage, the act closest to their hometown of Sydney (practically just down the road). With his growing popularity on Triple JJJ and even a spot in the latest Hottest 100 chart with Dog, featuring Lisa Mitchell; Bull was bound to be a hit. Playing tracks from his latest release, Phantom Pains, including the title track that was an obvious favourite of the crowd, Bull breezed through his set with confidence and quirky stories of famous friends to fill the gaps. Playing a cover that he recently performed on JJJ’s Like A Version, Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World was the icing on the pretty little cupcake that was this set.

The Chemist was the last act to step up before the headliner. The crowd were becoming restless, realising that three support acts were maybe one too many. The loud and busy sound of the pop rock group was easily lost on the audience. They didn’t seem to fit in with the other acts, all lyrical genius and harmonies versus heavy bass lines and distorted vocals. The boys from Perth are all great musicians who just don’t seem to have perfected their sound yet.

The show didn’t really get started until Hungry Kids of Hungary finally got through the pleasantries; songs that not everyone knew, older recordings and brand new, unheard tracks. The final four songs of the night without doubt had the audience squealing, dancing and spilling their overpriced beer into the shoes of everyone within a metre radius. For all the avid fans in the room, this all started in an order that seemed somehow skewed. Kicking off with Wristwatch, the second track from debut album, Escapades and continuing on with track one, Coming Around. No one seemed to mind, they all had their dancing shoes on and drunken shouting of each chorus down pat. Rounding up a night of talented men that had congregated from all over the country to a little university pub in the nation’s capital, was track four from the very same album, Let You Down. The shouting of lyrics became louder; the dancing now out of control and the beer spilling perimeter grew wider. The catchy tune sent the crowd into a frenzy and then the band claimed that they were done for the night.

We all know what this means, chanting for an encore. At $22 per ticket, it was the least they could do. Generously enough the wish was commanded, although the crowd couldn’t find the right way to fit such a mouthful of a band name into a simple chant. At least one member must have realised that the slurs and screams from the crowd and a small group repeating “We want more!” was drunk for, “Please, will you play us at least one more song?” To the delight of some and the sheer disappointment of others the night came to its final end with a Smashing Pumpkins cover, 1979.