Ball Park MusicKicking things off with their new track Naked In The Sun, local four-piece Rainy Day Women treated the gathering Capitol crowd to their infectious blend of garage rock and sweet pop harmonies. The latest single from their upcoming Friends EP, Runaway, got a great live treatment, as did WAM 2012 Song Of The Year Sleigh Bed. As the crowd began to swell, indie-electronic four-piece Voltaire Twins got the crowd on their feet with the driving synth-pop of set opener Solaris. Despite suffering from a broken toe, drummer Matt Giovannangelo managed to deliver some stand out playing on singles Animalia and Young Adult.
Shortly after, Brisbane five-piece Ball Park Music were greeted with an ecstatic response from the now packed-out venue. With full-force and gusto, frontman Sam Cromack and the band launched into Fence Sitter before segueing directly into Sad Rude Future Dude, with the adoring audience singing along to every word. During Harbour Of Lame Ducks, Cromack asked “Do you want to hear a fucking guitar solo?” An overwhelming cheer came from the audience, with Cromack and guitarist Dean Hanson proceeding to trade blistering harmonised solos together, making for one of the many highlights of the night. “We're going to take you back to 1963,” Cromack announced, launching into their rendition of December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) by the Four Seasons, demonstrating what it might have been like if Ball Park Music had chosen a career as a covers band.
With drummer Daniel Hanson laying down his instantly recognisable solid rock beat and Cromack, now down a few glasses of red wine and doing his best Jarvis Coker impersonation, the band gave an electrifying delivery of Surrender before leaving the stage, only to return shortly after with blistering encore performances of It's Nice to Be Alive and What's On Your Mind. Cromack shouted out to the audience “Thanks for making this a fucking awesome show!” before shooting down his last glass of red wine and launching himself straight into the audience to crowd surf out the end of their set, all but ensuring their popularity in the recorded form is enhanced by a blistering live show.
