Django Django, The Griswolds, Palms @ The Zoo, Brisbane (10/01/13)
I arrived at The Zoo on a balmy Thursday night to find the venue empty apart from myself and around 10 others who had arrived early to catch Sydney indie band Palms. Formed from former members of Red Riders, the four piece put on a fun and tight set which rewarded the punters who were early. Front man Al Grigg’s rough vocals were particularly a highlight on Triple J favourite and set closer, Love.
The crowd swelled significantly before fellow Sydney act The Griswolds took to the stage. When supports acts try and get the crowd involved it usually doesn’t work at all, but Chris Whithall was charming enough to win over most punters by getting them to join in a simple call and response chorus early on. There was a great energy between the five members on stage and this resulted in an engaging and exciting set which had more than a few punters dancing along to singles such as The Courtship of Summer and Heart of a Lion.
I unfortunately missed Django Django at Splendour in the Grass last year, so I was excited for the chance to see them in at one of Brisbane’s best and most intimate venues. The nerdy-looking group walked on stage to a very warm welcome from the near capacity crowd. The problem with this sized crowd in such a small and stuffy venue soon became evident with things getting very sweaty from early tunes Hail Bop and Storm onwards. The band were feeling it too, exclaiming that it was the hottest gig they’d ever played but they didn’t let it get them down, instead pumping out an brilliant extended version of Waveforms.
The Djangos seem to have a great chemistry of stage, with the pounding percussive elements, electronic beats and 80’s-surf-rock style guitar strumming blending seamlessly together to create a very impressive, but also very loud wall of sound. Sometimes it was too much, such as during the middle part of the set which featured a few longer album tracks in a row and the audience’s attention began to waver. A 70 minute set is a long one for a band with a just a debut album to their name, but to the bands’ credit they brought the crowd right back into it at the end of the set, with the one-two punch of massive hit singles Default and Wor seeing an large mosh pit forming, giving the Brisbanites one last chance to get their dance moves on.
And with that, Django Django left the stage to a rapturous applause, promising to return to our shores quickly. Many of the crowd departed, but those who stayed were rewarded, with the band coming on for one last song, fan favourite Silver Rays. Leaving The Zoo I wasn’t surprised to overhear phrases such as “that was awesome” and “I weren’t expecting them to be that good” from the mouths of a very satisfied crowd. Let’s hope the four piece make good on their assurance to be back sooner rather than later.
Sebastian Betten
Search tags - Django Django, The Zoo, Red Riders, The Griswolds, Palms, Falls Festival, Splendour In The Grass
The crowd swelled significantly before fellow Sydney act The Griswolds took to the stage. When supports acts try and get the crowd involved it usually doesn’t work at all, but Chris Whithall was charming enough to win over most punters by getting them to join in a simple call and response chorus early on. There was a great energy between the five members on stage and this resulted in an engaging and exciting set which had more than a few punters dancing along to singles such as The Courtship of Summer and Heart of a Lion.
I unfortunately missed Django Django at Splendour in the Grass last year, so I was excited for the chance to see them in at one of Brisbane’s best and most intimate venues. The nerdy-looking group walked on stage to a very warm welcome from the near capacity crowd. The problem with this sized crowd in such a small and stuffy venue soon became evident with things getting very sweaty from early tunes Hail Bop and Storm onwards. The band were feeling it too, exclaiming that it was the hottest gig they’d ever played but they didn’t let it get them down, instead pumping out an brilliant extended version of Waveforms.
The Djangos seem to have a great chemistry of stage, with the pounding percussive elements, electronic beats and 80’s-surf-rock style guitar strumming blending seamlessly together to create a very impressive, but also very loud wall of sound. Sometimes it was too much, such as during the middle part of the set which featured a few longer album tracks in a row and the audience’s attention began to waver. A 70 minute set is a long one for a band with a just a debut album to their name, but to the bands’ credit they brought the crowd right back into it at the end of the set, with the one-two punch of massive hit singles Default and Wor seeing an large mosh pit forming, giving the Brisbanites one last chance to get their dance moves on.
And with that, Django Django left the stage to a rapturous applause, promising to return to our shores quickly. Many of the crowd departed, but those who stayed were rewarded, with the band coming on for one last song, fan favourite Silver Rays. Leaving The Zoo I wasn’t surprised to overhear phrases such as “that was awesome” and “I weren’t expecting them to be that good” from the mouths of a very satisfied crowd. Let’s hope the four piece make good on their assurance to be back sooner rather than later.
Sebastian Betten
Search tags - Django Django, The Zoo, Red Riders, The Griswolds, Palms, Falls Festival, Splendour In The Grass