Words by Emily Hollitt
Photography by @Ummagummamumma– Full Gallery HERE
The line leading up to the Tivoli moved quickly as eager fans made their way in, ready to see one of the hottest line-ups of local artists I’ve seen in a while. I made my way through a sea of tiny moustaches and Violent Soho shirts to mark my spot up on the mezzanine, looking over the crowd with a great view of the stage.
I watched the room fill up quickly as opening act Total Pace hyped up the crowd. And for good reason. Featuring members of bands such as the aforementioned Violent Soho, DZ Deathrays, Heart Hiroshima and TAPE/OFF, the band’s musicality was as impressive as you would expect. Although the supergroup only formed in 2018, they hosted an impressive set of original music. The set closed with Just One More, skilfully encouraging the crowd to head to the bar and do exactly that, have at least one more beer!
Dear Seattle followed and were clearly a fan favourite. The room was packed right from the get-go, which was fantastic to see for an opening act. They started their set with Way Out followed by Maybe; vocalist Brae Fisher’s voice was drowned out by the eager crowd screaming his lyrics back to him. “We released a new song yesterday. Has anybody listened to it?” spoke Fisher before playing newbie Nothing’s Stopping Me Now. Mid set they played their high-energy cover, first performed on triple j’s Like a Version, of Missy Higgins’ The Special Two, flipping the Australian classic completely on its head. “This one’s about being caught up with your own shit” introduced Fisher before playing In My Head. The set closed with The Meadows. At this point, the room was full, the beers had kicked in and the crowd were loving it. I saw crowd surfers fly over the crowd as they began to mosh hard; a truly spectacular sight.
The sounds of Limp Bizkit blasted over the speakers as Ruby Fields took to the stage. She opened her set with, in her own words, “semi-love song,” P Plates, hyping the crowd up for what was to come. “This one’s a bit slower, but it pops off at the end!” she said, introducing Airport Café, and it did exactly that. I watched the energy in the crowd increase quickly as they jumped and danced as soon as the drums kicked in for that final chorus. “Shoey! Shoey!” screamed the crowd between songs, much to the dismay of the artist. Other fan favourites such as Song About A Boy and Trouble followed before she announced, “I don’t give in to peer pressure!”. She invited a fan onto the stage to do the shoey for her. She played her biggest hit Dinosaur before playing her final two tracks Clothes Line and Kitchen. “This is a song about loving your friends,” she said to introduce the final track, leaving her set on a wholesome note.
The room was buzzing with excitement as we waited eagerly for headline act of the night Hockey Dad to close the show. However, the tone of the room quickly changed as the fire alarm blasted throughout the venue and we were quickly evacuated. Roughly 1,500 people lined Costin St as we waited for the firefighters to show up and shut down the alarm. Met with huge applause, the response of the firefighters was quick. While we waited, crowd members took pictures with the track and loudly sang the iconic DJ Otzi 2000’s hit Hey Baby until we were told we could head back inside. The turnaround was amazingly quick, and we were all back in position for Hockey Dad in no time!
Classic tracks I Need A Woman and I Wanna Be Everybody opened the set, immediately recognised by fans. The energy stayed high as they played a range of songs from their long-spanning career. They played Good Eye before introducing their fanbase to a few new, unreleased tracks, teasing us for what to expect next from the band. Early hit A Night Out With kept the energy high as crowd members danced along to the song they’ve loved for years. Homely Feeling followed, which received a great crowd response. “I think only 2 or 3 people died” they joked about the fire alarm situation before singing Homely Feeling. Next, they played I Missed Out, which was met with great fan reception. Sweet Release followed soon after, as the band was joined on stage by Ruby Fields and Brae Fisher as drummer Billy Fleming took to centre stage to take on the frontman role. “We’re not gonna do an encore… it takes too long! Here’s the ones you ask for!” said vocalist Zach Stephenson before singing classic tracks Babe and closing with Seaweed.
The crowd quickly dispersed from The Tivoli, chatting loudly about the wild night they just had. Even if the fire alarm set everything back just a tad, the night still showcased some of the best Australian acts touring right now. Whether it’s a fire alarm or a global pandemic, nothing can stop Aussies from lining up to catch some of the best acts out; a welcome sight for an industry that’s suffered so hard over the past few years.
Check out @ummagummamumma‘s full gallery of the night HERE!
Thanks to Six Boroughs Publicity
