I hadn’t been to see a show at the Gaelic Club in Surry Hills in quite some time. Upon arrival, before I could even grab a tasty beverage, I was transfixed by the sound and energy of Betty Airs. Featuring (but not limited to) Darren Cross (Gerling) and Patrick Matthews (ex-Vines, Youth Group), these guys put on an incredibly upbeat, energetic performance with their own brand of surf/punk rock.

The crowd were like shy, timid deer at first, but the band’s onstage energy was contagious and had people gathering at the front of the stage and dancing away in no time. Only catching the names of a couple of songs, ‘She’s The Juan’ was a standout with it’s hooky chorus; a great singalong for the crowd. Be sure to check out their Facebook or Unearthed pages.

Melbournites King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard were up next.

Note: at this point, I noticed that one of the guitar amps on stage was elevated off the ground using a beer keg - I have never seen this before. Genius.

King Gizzard were... mind blowing. They’re all fantastic players in their own right but as a band their eclectic mix of blues, surf and psychedelic rock was captivating. What I found most interesting was the lineup: they had two guys dedicated to just harmonica, hitting the drummer’s kit/cymbols and what looked like a Moog Etherwave for manipulating sounds using body movement. These guys were ferocious and had a wild, untamed energy reminiscent of Nirvana. Things that normally would bother bands that may go wrong during a set did not seem to faze KG: broken strings on a guitar, input jack/lead not working on another guitar and the percussionist/sound manipulator knocking one of the drum mics off it’s stand due to his antics. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard finished up their set and marched off stage while the rest of the room picked their jaws up from the floor.

The crowd at the Gaelic Club eagerly awaited the arrival of British India and went wild when they took to stage, opening with ‘Black and White Radio’. Giving the audience barely a chance to catch their breath, the band barreled into ‘This Dance is Loaded’ - the crowd matching the band’s passion and screaming the chorus back at them.

It was roughly four songs in when the semi-mosh pit took full flight and people began crowd surfing; an odd scene considering the venue but an awesome sight nonetheless. It’s interesting to note that this continued for almost the remainder of the set and it wasn’t until maybe two songs before the end that security decided it might not have been overly safe.

The band pummeled through fan favourites (Avalanche, God Is Dead, Meet The Kids, You Will Die and I Will Take Over, Teenage Mother) and also included a cover of Harvey Danger’s ‘Flagpole Sitta’ which whipped the crowd into a frenzy! Singer Declan announced they would be treating us to some new material before launching into a tune titled ‘She Prefers Older Men’. ‘Safari’ was possibly the highlight of my night; ‘I Said I’m Sorry’ ironically saw a little trouble rear it’s head on the dance floor/mosh pit and they closed with ‘March Into The Ocean’.

When going back over my notes, I realised British India had played close to twenty songs in their mammoth set! Their didn’t seem to tire at all and were as vibrant in the closing moments as they were in the beginning of their set. These Melbourne lads put on a hell of a show; I left extremely impressed. If you can, do yourself a favour and catch them on the remainder of this tour!