Opening up tonight’s proceedings to a fairly generous crowd of early arrivers is relatively new trio, I Heart Hiroshima. The Three-piece have become somewhat of a Brisbane buzz-band in recent times, on the strength of their demo EP Three Letter Word for Candy and more particularly, its radio favourite single, ‘Bubblegum Gun’. Drummer Susie Patten is quickly garnering a reputation as an incredibly energetic, hard-hitting percussionist prone to on-stage theatrics and bizarre manoeuvres. Patten aside, I Heart Hiroshima have a knack for achieving just the right balance between the sharp guitar riffs that define the song chorus and the melancholic rhythm that reels you in and sits oh so nicely on radio airwaves.
Coming into radio exposure just after the likes of The Sleepy Jackson and Little Birdy graced the cover of every music press both here and abroad, Perth-based five-piece, The Panda Band seemed to have just missed the free ride to popularity afforded to Perth bands of the moment. Nonetheless, The Panda Band came ostensibly out of nowhere with the high-rotation ‘Sleepy Little Death Toll Town’ and only augmented their fan base with its follow-up single, ‘Eyelashes’. Said singles have provided the band with ample amounts of touring and indeed it shows. They may be yet to release a full-length album but the five-piece, nevertheless are exceedingly comfortable onstage, notably engaging the audience throughout their performance with their penchant for quirky melodies and indie hooks.
Trio of the moment, The Grates take to The Metro’s stage tonight from behind the theatre’s dramatic red curtain, dodging the balloons, glitter, fairy lights and other childrens’ birthday party items that adorn the stage. Indeed, the venue is tonight transformed into a carnival of sorts complete with rose, glow-stick and balloon sellers weaving their way through the sold-out crowd. The band race through a tight one hour set – bearing in mind that many of the band’s tracks struggle to break the two minute mark – slowed down only by vocalist Patience’s frequent (and lengthy) on-stage banter. An incredibly endearing frontwoman, Patience’s unyielding energy is quite remarkable and sees her hopping and jumping, clapping and waving ribbons across the length of the stage for the duration of the band’s set. Drummer Alana tonight proved herself to be a notably underrated percussionist with her disciplined, relentless pounding keeping precise pace on which so many of the band’s tracks heavily rely. One of The Grates first radio singles, dreamy pop number ‘Sukkafish’ proved to be a crowd favourite but none had the some 1,200 strong crowd dancing like the more recent ‘19-20-20’.
