Live Review: The Preatures

It was an interesting mix that gathered in the Art Gallery foyer for a night of supposed Australian contemporary pub rock/pop in the form of The Preatures and Hamjam. Surely a result of the venue, the Doc-booted, army-jacketed youth were strangely outnumbered by the blazer and dress-wearing professional adults that carefully slid across the vinyl, sipping their chardonnays. Though the crowd tilted to the slightly conservative, the music did not and the bands brought their own personas to the stage and made the vibe their own.

Local lads Hamjam took to the stage to open the show with their West Coast beachy rock tunes, setting a great tone for the night.

It wasn’t long before the MC addressed the mic and introduced the The Preatures one by one. It was clear who the crowd was here to see as they erupted when he announced Isabella Manfredi. Small in stature but a powerhouse vocally and visually on stage, Manfredi has come of age as a vocalist and front woman. The band ignited into triple j favourites, Somebody’s Talking, Manic Baby and Whatever You Want.

Isabella took a short breath to engage with the crowd and welcome in the first show of the tour, stating that this was their first time back on stage after a six week break and that earlier in the year The Preatures performed for triple j’s Beat The Drum concert, where they played The Divinyl’s  Boys In Town with Divinyls guitarist Mark McEntee. Channelling Chrissie Amphlett herself, Manfredi looked the part, hair in eyes and belting out the cover.

The success of their debut album Blue Planet Eyes was evident as the ArtBar cheered and danced along to Ordinary and Better Than It Ever Could Be.

With the crowd in the palm of her hand Manfredi challenged the crowd, “Are you ready to dance?” With that, every body in the room was dancing to the hit that eleveated them to national recognition, Is This How You Feel?

Manfredi took a moment to dedicate the next song to the late to Doc Neeson of The Angels. Everyone knew what was coming and went wild for Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, chanting the familiar call back, “No way, get fucked, fuck off!” Manfredi proclaimed her love for performing and said that she never wants to be away from the stage. 

The band was firing on all cylinders for Cruel, as Manfredi playfully teased the two guitarists shimmying back and forth in between them before thanking the crowd and leaving the stage.

The band came back to the stage to introduce a new song they had written at Glastonbury, influenced by the Brian Johnstown Massacre and from having time off with not much else to do. Manfredi stated the song was about the clinicalness of pop music and her love for imperfection in music. “It doesn’t have to be perfect.” The delivery and passion in her voice gave chills and left the crowd in awe. It will be one to look out for.

“We’re gonna send off with an old one,” she breathed, as guitarist Gideon Bensen took on lead vocals for the final song Take A Card.

Even in such a unusual venue of an art gallery foyer with statues obstructing the stage and glass cabinets lining the walls, The Preatures easily lifted the roof off and showed why they are one the premier acts in the country with the hit songs to back up an inspirational performance.

Originally published by X-Press Magazine