Stonefield @ Fowler's Live,Adelaide (25/08/11)

Mon 29th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

What were you doing when you were 13 years old? You were probably worrying if your crush liked you, while struggling with self-esteem issues as you awkwardly struggled to express your burgeoning identity. What I bet you weren’t doing was rocking out on bass guitar, centre stage with your older sisters.

That is exactly the life of Holly Findlay, the youngest sister of Melbourne ‘unearthed’ act Stonefield who, last Thursday, embarked on their first national tour of the country. Winning triple j’s Unearthed High competition last year the girls have had an amazing few months; they are basically fresh off the Glastonbury stage, and are probably still battling slight jetlag from a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles.

Support band The Warsaw Pact draw influence from a range of contemporary music including The Strokes, Grizzly Bear and The Kooks. They opened with the title track from their debut EP The Playground to a cool reception from the crowd. However, a few songs into the set and the crowd warmed, with a cover pf Arctic Monkeys’ I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor whetting the young crowd’s appetite. Feeling one cover wasn’t enough, they bought out a version of The Wombats Let’s Dance To Joy Division which had the crowd in two minds, before later covering The Strokes’ New York City Cops. As for their original material, there were touches of Interpol and The Killers. .

With only one EP under their belt and this being only their second appearance in Adelaide, the Findlay sisters managed to pack out Fowler’s Live, a much more fitting atmosphere than their last appearance in Adelaide at The Spiegeltent.

Opening with the B-side Yes Master, Stonefield kicked off with a style that far exceeds their age. With the oldest sibling barely out of her teen years, these girls, who grew up on a diet of Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, seize their genre. Hannah Findlay on guitar is every bit mysterious as she wears down the fret nailing every gritty riff and slide. Sarah Findlay on keys provides sweet back-up vox that layer perfectly under Amy’s impressive vocals. Being a drummer and vocalist all in one is no easy feat but Amy manages it with such ease, never missing a beat on either her kit or her voice.

And then of course there’s Holly, who is the talk of the crowd for the evening as she stuns onlookers with her prowess over the bass, which is probably just as tall as she is. For someone barely into her teen years, Holly’s energy and competence is already far exceeding her age and I can’t wait to see what she pulls off a few years down the track.
Playing something to please everyone in the crowd, the girls powered through a stunning set that included current single and crowd favourite Black Water Rising, as well as all the tracks off their Through The Clover EP, including the title track, Drowning and Foreign Lover.

Some unreleased songs were thrown into the mix as well as a cover of Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, which had the younger crowd slightly perplexed whilst the older and more musically-aware members of the audience were loving the 70’s flashback moment.