Despite Tapes ’n’ Tapes having a buzz around them for the last few months which should have assured them a sold out crowd of scenesters, or at the very least a large number of scenesters hanging back at the bar waiting for Tapes ’n’ Tapes to begin, the Zoo is quite empty at the start of the night when Prettyguns take the stage. Their music is a mixture of metal vocals at times as well as some funk inspired bass lines, and while they weren’t playing to a huge audience they still managed to make an impression on the crowd.
Local favourites I Heart Hiroshima take the stage and blaze through songs from their EPs - A 3 Letter Word For Candy and Cut in Colour with Susie, Cameron and Matthew all delivering their usual amazingly high energy performance. Susie fiercely pounded her drum kit at an amazing speed throughout the show while harmonising or taking lead vocals, and Cameron and Matthew both provide vocals and catchy guitar riffs to create I Heart Hirsohima’s distinctive live show. As well as brilliant music a highlight of an I Heart Hiroshima gig is always Susie’s in between song banter. Tonight she tells the crowd she feels like a puff pastry (‘just slightly golden brown’) and also gives a shout out to a documentary on teenagers with Tourette’s syndrome she recently watched and found very entertaining.
The musical highlights of the set included the radio favourite Code Blue, as well as Neutron Popsong and one of their older tracks I Feel It. I Heart Hiroshima give their all in every live performance and tonight is no exception, even the lacklustre response of the crowd to Susie’s demands for some crowd participation throughout the evening don’t deter them. It’s always a little depressing when people are just too cool to handclap and give a little something back to a band, but it was brilliant to see that I Heart Hiroshima didn’t let the audience influence their energy or performance, and played a great show.
After tonight’s performance it’s clear that Tapes ’n’ Tapes are a band where their albums and EPs do not come close to doing their music justice. From the moment Tapes ’n’ Tapes step on stage their energy is unrelenting; even though there are only four members of the band – Josh Grier on vocals/guitar, Jeremy Hanson on drums, Matt Kretzman on keyboards and Erik Appelwick on bass- they create a huge wall of sound that overwhelms the venue. While playing songs like Beach Girls from their EP and 10 Gallon Ascot from their debut record The Loon, the band work together to build each song up to a fever pitch with Matt bouncing around the stage playing tambourine, Josh and Erik bringing the powerful riffs and vocals, which is all further intensified by Jeremy’s forceful drumming.
After the dreamy soulful ballad Manitoba the band picks up the pace once again with the single Cowbell which gets a huge reaction from the crowd and turns the Zoo into a giant dance floor, after which Josh declares its time for a beer break and tells of how the best thing ever happened to him today- today was the day he finally held a koala and patted a kangaroo. As well as appreciating our wildlife Josh is also extremely complimentary towards Brisbane’s tropical weather after nearly passing out the day before while playing in scorching temperatures at the Meredith Music Festival. The beer break must have done its job because the band once again works the crowd up into a frenzy with 50s Parking and Buckle. There’s a momentary pause in the proceedings as Josh points out a huge cockroach that has run across the stage and Matt declares that the cockroach has not only drunk his beer, but also stolen his girlfriend.
The final songs of the night seem to come much too quickly, Insistor in particular gets the crowd singing along, dancing and even doing some foot stomping before it’s all over and the band leave the stage without an encore. It’s a rare gig where an encore is unnecessary but in this instance it definitely wasn’t required, Tapes ’n’ Tapes more than proved that they deserve all their hype.
