Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle
Friday August 30, 2013 :
The Smith Street Band have a reputation of being a great live act and have lived up to this each time I have seen them. Catching them on another tour for me is a no brainer.
Will Wagner and his band have grown quite a following since getting some airplay on Triple J with the Sunshine and Technology release of last year. Since then they haven’t lost momentum, relentlessly touring and somehow fitting in the release of new material, Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams.
The buzz around the band was obvious when turning up to The Great Northern with a line up forming for the sold out show. It seems that the band has struck a chord with many different types of music lovers with the crowd consisted of bearded old punks, rockabilly girls, hardcore kids along with surfer types wearing board shorts at night.
Kicking off the nights proceedings was local act, Summer Policy. Front man/ guitarist James is a very talented and funny Newcastle character badly telling jokes between some very catchy, fast, folky, punk tunes.
U.S. band Cheap Girls then wooed the growing crowd with their version of folky punk this time with a more country twang and plenty of volume for a three piece.
Next up was Joyce Manor who seemed to have heaps of fans that knew all the words and chanted along. I realised when these guys came on that the trend of the night was to have no musician without an instrument in their hands on stage. At times I believe this can limit a band’s crowd involvement although Joyce Manor smashed that idea carrying a heap of energy and style. Their fast, short pop punk influenced anthems even had a few people crowd surfing, spilling everyone’s beers.
The sardine like mass of people that had now formed up the front and seemingly all the way to the back, did not move when the Joyce Manor finished. Not one person wanted to lose their spot. The Smith Street Band blasted straight into the title track from the new 10”, Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams, followed by the next track from the same release, ‘Ducks Fly Together’. Both songs stirring the crowd into a constantly moving and singing sea-like mass.
For the remainder of the night a mix of old and new was belted out all with the same gusto proving the quality of this bands catalogue. Besides a few bad eggs attempting to out muscle each other in the pit, the vibes were great. Smith Street Band show no sign of slowing down and I can’t wait for the next tour.
Reviewer and Photographer: Daniel Coy
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_26O80KmL0