This reviewer arrived an hour late to Spectrum but judging by the size
of the crowd on hand it could have been a lot later and in fact, time
for the headliners. Although it was only 9:00pm, the venue was full to
the brim and had more punters in attendance than I’ve ever seen there
for such an early time slot. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, it seemed
like many were there specifically to see Melbournians, Loon Lake. Well
sort of, because it seemed the band had their own personal cheer squad
made up of mates and associates to keep spirits up high.

But it’s
not like the group needed this extra push as the quintet quickly won
over the remaining fans with their good bopping rock tunes. The lead
singer looked like Peter Hook and sang like Stevie Wright but musically,
they dolled out sounds that seemed to reference the raucous and
dance-worthy garage rock of Philadelphia Grand Jury. They also had the
commercial sheen of Jet and the catchy and unique guitar hooks that are
the bread and butter of The Strokes. This meant songs like “Into The
Office” and “Good Time” were met with overzealous punters clapping,
dancing and pointing like it was nobody’s business and overall, this was
no mean feat for such early supports.

It was a hard act to
follow and Sierra Fin attempted to endear themselves to a home crowd
with kind platitudes. Their music was very different from the former act
as it was all about lush layers and moody atmospherics, at times
reminiscent of fellow Sydneysiders, Richard In Your Mind. Although the
crowd appeared to enjoy the rollicking, indie rock tunes they were
noticeably more subdued during this slot.

“Blue Day Sun” set the
scene for a deserted island with watery riffs flowing strong from a
ukulele. Singer/guitarist, Russ Tainton made a jibe about the song
sounding like Tortoise before announcing the group’s self-anointed fifth
member, “Clint Eastwood” on piano accordion. This gave “Out Of Favours”
a little Italy/Eurovision element but thankfully had less blonde hair
and spandex.

“Lost Mans Lie” had some unique stops and starts
that provided a tantalising twist to a garden-variety indie rock song.
Some more straightforward rock was the next order of the day as the boys
asked the crowd to act “like they’d travelled from overseas" to hear it. In short, the guys put out a short, sharp set of layered indie rock
tunes to a somewhat appreciative audience.

It was soon time for
headliners, Papa vs Pretty, a trio of babe-faced individuals who looked
like they weren’t quite old enough to be in the venue. The crowd cheered
as the youngsters launched into their big heavy rock stuff. The show
was intended to launch the group’s new EP, Heavy Harm, and they would
proceed to play every song from the title.

“Sgt Suffer” was
played with a Ramones-like breakneck speed. So much noise came courtesy
of singer/guitarist, Thomas Rawle’s cheery red guitar you would’ve sworn
he had some fairy helpers providing back up in the dark corners of the
room. It was all about great balls of energy bouncing off the walls of
Spectrum as “Wrecking Ball” was another new track played with plenty of
gusto even if it was played in the wrong key. The dancing and energy
continued both on stage and off into “Piper” with its sixties melodies
and harmonies reaching up high above the night time sky.

“I Still
Believe In Us” began with a solo Rawle on electric guitar before the
others kicked in with their instruments two minutes in. A sweet rock
ballad, it shimmered as grateful members of the crowd held their spirit
fingers up high. The boys were beside themselves with the
gracious and receptive crowd. They rewarded us by playing harder and
heavier sounds in “Ask Yourself” where Rawle exorcised a bunch of demons
with his angst and axe.

“Heavy Harm” received cheers of
recognition but it was the encore that received one of the best
receptions of the night. A cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” it was all
about putting your arm around your mates and not bothering about the
fact that everyone had twinkles in their eyes (and in a few grown men
quite visible tears). The rock trio played an honest cover, conjuring up
and stirring individual memories of this important song and hit.

The
guys had put on a tight rock show, playing for about an hour with music
that referenced acts like the Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age,
Grinspoon and The Living End. The songs were all delivered with such
enthusiasm, passion and flair – occasionally these came with rock star
moves and posing (although nothing was as over the top as say Status
Quo’s infamous stances) and in all, they sated the rock appetites of all
and sundry.