Smack
bang in the middle of the Fitzroy precinct in which many of Melbourne’s
hipsters reside sits the Evelyn Hotel, a 400-capacity bandroom renowned
for its cheap drinks and chilled atmosphere. On Saturday night this
Brunswick Street venue was home to a handful of the city’s most promising
new bands.

Due
to a slight timing error on my behalf I just missed the opening act,
Polygon Palace, however everybody who followed were thoroughly impressive;
more so than I had expected.

Naçional,
a four-piece band compiled of three guys and a girl from all corners
of Melbourne, were the first act I caught. As a sucker for bands fronted
by women (think Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Hole), I thoroughly enjoyed the
performance. Leading lady Deanna Wesson was contagiously energetic and
clearly had a knack for performing, highlighted by the fact that she
was consistently lively despite putting up with a rather inanimate audience.
Her playful tone was tinted with a ‘tude to match Debbie Harry and
the like, particularly as she squealed the lyrics ‘I’m young, single
and angry / it’s YSA and I appear to be craz-ay’. All that said,
the strength in her performance was intensified by the competence of
other band members: Matt Sofo, Nathan Bobik and David Lovegrove. Bass
heavy and riddled with guitar and drum solos, overall the group produced
a sound resembling a blend of Garbage, No Doubt and even an amateur
Blondie. Their own description of themselves as a ‘dirty electro rock’
band is extremely accurate, and they do put on a good show.

Next
up were a bunch of chaps from Mornington Peninsula going by the name
of Red Ink. With their new single Audrey starting to hit
the airwaves, the pop, indie, punk-ish outfit produced a set that grew
more intense with each track. Vocalist John interacted with the crowd
effortlessly, and he is clearly very comfortable being on stage (evident
when he suddenly pulled his shirt off mid-set). His writhing and bizarre
dance moves kept the audience enthralled as he proceeded to throw around
the microphone-stand and roll around the floor. Thoroughly entertaining
as it was, occasionally the theatrics were a little much, and definitely
bordered on being humorous, which I am not sure is the intention. However,
that aside, the music itself was top-notch. Despite the performance
being hindered by the loss of an essential bass-string halfway through,
the boys carried on and the difference was barely notable. More to the
point, with their energy, they may as well have been playing to a stadium
of thousands as opposed to a room half-full of apparently immovable
patrons.

The
final act of the night was the disco-pop-funk group We:Are:Fans.
Brain child of DJ/ Producer Harris Robotis, We:Are:Fans is an infusion
of classic disco and contemporary pop; a combination guaranteed to
finally get people moving. This was certainly the case at the Ev,
where the crowd ranged from enthusiastic young’uns to gig-going veterans,
most of whom danced along to the catchy riffs willingly. Like Naçional,
a young woman with formidable talent fronts this group. Maxie Vauzelle,
usually a blues singer, simply has that … thing about her.
A born performer, she kept the crowd captivated as she worked the stage,
somehow managing to sing and play the tambourine whilst dancing in too-high
heels. The other band members, too, demonstrated their talents and unwavering
synergy with each other that resulted in seamless transitions between
songs. Arguably the highlight of the night was the performance of a
song, which, interestingly, goes by the same name as the band itself.
In short, We:Are:Fans pretty much blew me away. A fitting finish to
an already good night out, I say.

Photo taken at the Hot BBQ Festival from http://www.myspace.com/wearefanss