Live Review: The Holidays, The Cairos, High-tails

19 March 2014 | 12:57 pm | Cate Summers

The boys have delivered a fun, colourful album, wrapped up in dream-pop goodness, which translated easily to a live setting.

A pulsating, packed-out Oxford Art Factory was the setting on Friday night for Sydney lads The Holidays, with many fans itching at their bits to hear material off the band's new, long-awaited album Real Feel.

The boys were in good company for the night, supported by Wagga Wagga's High-tails and Brisbane boys The Cairos. Indeed the night was a bit of a cluster bomb of young male talent, and from the get-go their female fans were out representing and doing that fan-girl thing they do.

Impressive opening set by the High-tails, who are still very new to the game but have a lot of potential, with some really catchy songs and a good live energy. Maps was a highlight from their original material, and their cover of Elton John's Bennie And The Jets was a great addition to their set. These guys are ones to watch.

There was an influx of onlookers into the venue when The Cairos came on to play. The boys are certainly more confident in their live shows and have definitely honed their craft in the past 18 months or so. New single Desire was a bit lacklustre amongst their other tracks, with Obsession gaining a fervent response from the crowd and Shame taking the gong for audience fave.

The Holidays took to the stage, haloed by vibrant, warm stage lights, and treated the audience to a plethora of tunes from Real Feel. Starting with the intriguingly layered Voices Drifting, the boys then moved onto the first single off the album, the dreamy, synth-pop track All Time High.

There was a good selection of older tracks from their popular debut Post Paradise thrown into the setlist as well. Golden oldies like Moonlight Hours and Broken Bones were a good divider between newer material, having been perfected by the band over the years. New single Home stood out, its colourful percussion managing to hook the audience, but beyond its catchiness there didn't seem to be much else underneath.

Having waited patiently for Real Feel for four years, fans of The Holidays seemed very content with the band's new material. The boys have delivered a fun, colourful album, wrapped up in dream-pop goodness, which translated easily to a live setting.