Growing up as a music-loving child in Sydney, the one place you idolise is the Metro. Sadly though, you watch countless awesome bands fly into the country and snub you by playing at this 18+ venue. I could go through the list of bands I’ve missed because of this but it would just depress me. So when I finally reached the celebrated age - I put ‘Metro gig’ at the top of my list. Bar End of Fashion, Gerling were one of the first bands available and being supported by a personal favourite, Dappled Cities Fly, it was not to be missed.
Through a mix of inexperience and ignorance I arrived 30 mins after doors opened, thinking I may have missing the start of Dappled. After getting past the uncooperative ogres at the door, who tried but failed to find evidence of my I.D. being fake, I scaled the mountain of stairs and entered the room where the action would be taking place, only to find it empty but for about 5 other people. First impressions were rather ordinary as I discovered the Metro is just a regular venue. There goes my illusion of a gold-plated stage. It turns out another band, Bridezilla were about to start and Dappled was a long way off. I breathed a sigh of relief then stuck around to hear out this opener. Composed of four girls and a drummer who looked like a girl anyway, they played some pretty decent music. They were a bit unorthodox, featuring a saxophone and violin, and at times the singer looked and sounded like Sarah Blasko.
After giving them the ‘alright’ judgement I headed outside in search of a bar. Stumbling into the Pavilion, I had the pleasant experience of being felt up by a female ogre, supposedly checking me for metal objects. Walking in, I noticed the wealth of pokie machines surrounding me. Unfortunately I never had the chance to waste my money, as the line at the bar was moving at snail’s pace. Finally I was handed my two beers, on tap no less, and had to down them quick before Dappled came on. Thankfully I made it back in time and despite the place being fuller now, the front rail was untaken and calling for me to lean on it.
Dappled Cities Fly walked out to the applause of the crowd and they launched into their set. It was a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar songs played in typical Dappled style, slightly tweaked yet pulled off to perfection. Alex, the bass player, had grown a substantial beard since I last saw him and I’m sure his rhythmic head bopping can be attributed to nursing the baby chicks he had nesting in there. Tim was his energetic-self, flailing himself around and making full use of the stage. Dave was as stylish as ever, decked out in a rainbow-coloured woollen sweater. A mention also goes to the guest keyboardist whose zombie-inspired action was good enough to go unnoticed. As usual, the high-pitched goodness was plentiful and many joined in singing their live favourites. From what they played off their forthcoming album, I’d say it’s going to turn out pretty good, and I’m in anxious anticipation. I would have to say that this was one of the best Dappled sets I’ve heard, and I’ve heard plenty. There was no dancing or jumping, just admiration of their quality music. Once they had been clapped off, it was back out into the night for me, to further reduce my senses.
This time I went into Bar Ace, the unofficial Metro bar, so I’m told. This place clearly valued pool tables over pokie machines but again I didn’t have a chance to enjoy. Friends seemed to be coming from every direction so I sat and enjoyed a couple of drinks with them. Dappled had left me satisfied yet I was still aching to expel some energy. So for Gerling my friends and I, made the conscious decision that we would dance till we collapsed. For those of you that were there, yes, I was one of THEM.
When we got back inside, Gerling had already launched into, ‘Turning The Screws’, the single off their new album. It was perfect for getting into the mood and we quickly found ourselves a spot on the floor and went crazy. My experiences with Gerling have been rather hit-or-miss. At Come Together they were incredible, yet at Big Day Out I left after two songs. Thankfully this was one of the former and they were energetic the whole way through. They played all the songs you’d expect, spanning across all their albums. The real fun however happened when they rolled out the beach balls. These weren’t your average beach balls; they were gigantic, about 2 metres in diameter. It really wasn’t well thought through though as with a small roof, the lights were getting smashed around but we didn’t care, we were just enjoying bopping them about. Then we came up with an ingenious idea; we cleared a big space on the floor and managed to get one of the balls to fall inside. What ensued was a mad frenzy to try and get on top. This was no easy feat considering their size and the alcohol I had consumed but I managed to get on and get to my feet a couple of times, it was great fun. After we’d thrown the ball back into circulation we went back to dancing and jumping around like idiots. They finished their set but came back for an encore due to popular demand (or a pre-made decision) and played an extended version of ‘Ghost Patrol’. I was really starting to get worn out but thankfully they finished before it felt dragged out.
It was simply one of the best gigs I’ve been to in a while and if you get a chance, I highly recommend you try and catch Gerling while they’re still on their tour.
