The Grates, The Panda Band, IHeart Hiroshima @ TheCoolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast(11/05/06)

Mon 15th May, 2006 in Gig Reviews

It may have just been the sea salt, but there was a lot of LOVE in the air. I Heart Hiroshima cut through the crowd with there opening tune ‘Atom Bomb.’ Their explosive beats definitely set the vibe for the rest of the evening.

The Panda Band aka The Hairy Band rocked the Cooly, travelling all the way from Perth. Throughout their gig, the attention focused on Chris the guitarist who had a freshly broken arm. He made use of just about every object on stage that he could get his one hand to. The Pandas impressive sound rallied many new fans to there side.

Colour, helium, and fairy lights lit the stage as the long awaited The Grates marched out to start their mind blowing set. Energy, excitement and pushed their live performance and captivated the audience. A strong connection was made between the fans and the three quirky performers. Full of witty antics, the crowd lapped up the fun atmosphere.Green and navy Y fronts with a romantic message encrypted on them became one of the main focal points of the evening, after they were thrown on stage during ‘Science is Golden’.

Comical lyrics and great guitar riffs were a good combination along with their playful stage presence. The Grates are high quality performers, but without this edge their shows would certainly be lacking as their musicianship is at a lower standard.