The Esplanade Hotel management really are a generous bunch. Many times have I dropped into The Espy to catch a free gig in the front bar. We’re not talking here about the local out of tune busker with the monotonous repertoire, but professional acts that I would gladly pay to see (but fortunately don’t have to). I planned to see this gig as soon as I heard it was on, particularly because I just love, love, love The Vasco Era. Perhaps I am selfish in saying that I didn’t want to share any of the bands with one-beer-drunks who were only a few hours past their eighteenth birthday, but this night I was out of luck. Scarce were the usual quirky Espy crowd, and prevalent were the fledgling and quite pushy youths drinking two-buck-chuck. That’ll ‘learn’ me to go to a free gig on a public holiday.

The Pretty Littles have been together for a couple of years now, but relatively speaking are still newbies. They exude the energy, excitement and enthusiasm of those not yet jaded with the industry, and they play to have fun. Musically they exude an indie quality that’s quite old school and reminiscent of '90s alternative rock. Jack Parsons (vocals) has a discernable Aussie accent when singing, which is reasonably unusual. I’m not a huge fan of the Aussie accent, (even though I have one myself), but my opinion aside, this aspect of the music will appeal to many I’m sure.

Royston Vasie is a band that has a number of sold out shows under their belt. They are predicted to be ‘big’, and with the launch of their EP and subsequent airplay and exposure that should bring, the predictions could be spot-on. They’ve been compared to bands such as The Pixies, and whilst I don’t think they’re quite in that league yet, they may just hit on a tune that throws them into the limelight to claim their five minutes of fame.

Money For Rope really rocked it. The energy they have for their music and their high-octane stage antics ensured my exhaustion and won over the young (and drunk) audience. The mosh became increasingly intense and insane as Money For Rope ploughed through their set. The guys had played "Boogie" earlier in the day and still had enough energy to fire up the two drumkits and other noise-makers, to hit us squarely between the ears.

By this stage the punters were eager for The Vascos as it was way past their bedtime. I have seen The Vasco Era a couple of times before, most recently as support for Alberta Cross. They have a plethora of original music, and are soon to release more. The band could have used this platform as a testing ground for the new stuff, but disappointingly they didn’t. Despite the average age of the punters present, they launched into classic, but very old, covers of Dylan and Redding mixed in with a bit of Jerry Lee Lewis. They were still sounding great, and the youngsters were having a brilliant time because they were determined to milk the event for all it was worth, but I think the seasoned gigsters would have expected more. I still love The Vasco Era, but I’ve learned they are better as a unit when playing "seriously". I don’t know that this Espy gig was a genuine effort or if the band realised that they could have sung “Puff the Magic Dragon” and the kids would have moshed on regardless.