Words by Emily Hollitt
Photos by Shot By Hannan (Full gallery will be available on our GC Live Facebook page)
It was a busy Friday night at Miami Marketta. The place was bustling with families and friends alike, and I was there to see one of Australia’s finest- Butterfingers. I hadn’t seen The Marketta since it had been renovated and was very impressed by the giant lamingtons, cocktail special (vanilla vodka and Malibu is a combination to die for) and the huge Gin Parlour. After a quick wander, I was ready to make it into where the music was (and was welcomed by excellent aircon).
First on the bill? Kobrakai. I hadn’t heard of these guys before, so I was eager to see what they were about. Although it was a slow start to the night crowd-wise, the Kobrakai boys remained unphased, interacting with each other as if they were playing at the Superbowl halftime show. Interaction with each other was amazing, particularly from the band’s lead and bassist. The overall mix was great, with clear vocals with every part the band was playing being easily distinguishable, even from The Gin Parlour outside. There was a disconnect without outfits, with the two front-men dressed in essentially an all-black, just-rolled-out-of-bed-but-still-ready-to-rock look with their new drummer, who seemed to have missed the memo with his charming light blue button-up and a smile plastered across his face the whole set, indicating he was just really happy to be there. Tightness and musicality was evident within Kobrakai and, even though the outfits didn’t quite match up, the band retained a great sense of personality.
After a quick wander between sets (and a quick cocktail, of course), I was met outside by The Mouldy Lovers. As a sucker for brass, I was even more excited to see if featured Jonathan Sri, the Greens Councillor for The Gabba. After this, I was more than a little hyped to see Fresh Violet for the first time. I had seen her name and logo everywhere, but didn’t really know what this Melbourne local was about. She approached the stage with confidence, dressed in a matching orange camo jumpsuit, worn white sneakers, stark violet hair and 12/10 makeup, She introduced her set with a song about… breakfast? I was a little taken aback at first and didn’t really understand her, or why she was smiling so hard while she said “Say it to my face or I’ll smack ya!”, but quickly learnt to love her around 3 tracks in during Ask Vizzy.
From behind her laptop she grabbed a small pair of glasses and a sheet of paper, and quickly this became a skit as well as a showcase of her music- and I loved it. This song made me truly understand her personality, and the set was all uphill from there. With Left and Right she not only owned the rap game, a generally male-dominated genre, yet also owned her sexuality- an often taboo topic often used to tear down women, particularly in music. But she was one with the times, and I was living for it. Her stage banter was complimented by her ability to deal with hecklers, passing the loudest (and most entertaining heckler) a small box of Nutrigrain, which he then paired with whatever his beer choice was for the night. As the set came to a close, I was more hyped up than ever for headliner for the night, Butterfingers.
The band introduced themselves with an ode to Freddie Mercury’s iconic Live Aid call-and-response, hyping up, with the rest of the planet, the Bohemian Rhapsody film. Frontman Eddie Jacobson quickly let us know that they were playing the entire ‘Breakfast at Fatboys’ album from start to finish, so no one needed to ask for the setlist later, celebrating the album’s 15th anniversary. The impact this album had was evident, with the crowd singing back every word. They welcomed Fresh Violet back on stage to feature on Hook Up before getting into the nitty gritty of the set. They had a great mix of hip hop, rap and rock- kind of like Australia’s call to Limp Bizkit if Limp Bizkit were good (and at least Eddie could play guitar- “Shag My Friends”, anyone?). Audience interaction was excellent, passing the mic through the crowd for the audience to scream “Your mamma’s on the top of my things to do list”. They welcomed Fresh Violet back on stage around halfway through, with her saying, “Sorry, I took my shoes off then had to put them on again… What are we doing?” which was answered quickly by Eddie with “I’m gonna piss on ya”. This was quickly contextualised with “Well, recently I got pissed on” followed by crowd favourite, you guessed it, Piss On Ya. From the loud and proudness of Sorry to the vulnerability of Hurt Me So Bad, the band solidified themselves as one of the most diverse (thanks to the kazoo solo as well, of course). After making it through the set, the band came back for 3 encores, ending on Australian classic FIGJAM, performing right up until the venues strict 10pm cut-off.
I left that night feeling inspired by the sense of community I felt at The Miami Marketta that night. Walking out and mentally preparing myself to blast I Love Work on my way to the next day’s shift, I definitely regained my appreciation for the incredible Australian and local music scene.
Thanks to Bewilderbeats, New World Artists and On The Map PR, you can catch Butterfingers on their ’15 years Of Fatboys’ National Tour through march and April on the following dates at these venues! GC Live highly recommends you get to as many shows as possible!
BUTTERFINGERS 15 YEARS OF FATBOYS NATIONAL TOUR
SAT 09 MAR | THE ZOO, BRISBANE QLD | 18+Tickets available from https://tickets.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/57f6f97d-e85d-4e15-91bc-564191523ffc |1300 762 545
THU 14 MAR | UNI BAR, WOLLONGONG NSW | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/butterfingers-special-guests/108156?offercode=BUTTER | 1300 GET TIX
FRI 15 MAR | CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE NSW | 18+
Tickets available from: https://events.ticketbooth.com.au/event/butterfingers-15-years-of-breakfast-at-fatboys-tour/pre-sale
SAT 16 MAR | MANNING BAR, SYD NSW | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95499 | 1300 762 545
THU 21 MAR | THE GOVERNOR HINDMARSH, ADELAIDE SA | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95551 | 1300 762 545
FRI 22 MAR | PELLY BAR, FRANKSTON VIC | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95449| 1300 762 545
SAT 23 MAR | GEELONG HOTEL, GEELONG VIC | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/butterfingers-15-years-of-breakfast-at-fatboys-tour-tickets-52043827489
SUN 24 MAR | SOOKI LOUNGE, BELGRAVE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from https://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95453 | 1300 762 545
THU 28 MAR | DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH WA | 18+
Tickets available from https://tickets.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/bddb42c8-42da-44ff-80d5-7ffab03963f4 | 1300 762 545
FRI 29 MAR | BADLANDS BAR, PERTH WA | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95456 | 1300 762 545
SAT 30 MAR | BAR1 NIGHTCLUB, HILLARYS WA | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/butterfingers-15-years-of-breakfast-at-fatboys/108114 | 1300 GET TIX
FRI 05 APR | THE CORNER, RICHMOND VIC | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/butterfingers-15-years-of-breakfast-at-fatboys-tickets-51995296331?discount=FIGJAM
SAT 06 APR | GRANADA TAVERN, HOBART TAS | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95460 | 1300 762 545
FRI 12 APR | DALRYMPLE HOTEL, TOWNSVILLE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95462 | 1300 762 545
SAT 13 APR | MAGNUMS, AIRLIE BEACH QLD | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95463 | 1300 762 545
THU 18 APR | SPOTTED COW, TOOWOOMBA QLD | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95464 | 1300 762 545
SAT 20 APR | RACEHORSE HOTEL, IPSWICH QLD | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95465 | 1300 762 545
FRI 26 APR | THE NORTHERN, BYRON BAY NSW | 18+
Tickets available from http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=95466 | 1300 762 545