Animated conversation was broken up by a very abrasive screech of a guitar as Snotty Babies began the night belting out a sloppy, grungy number. Two cute girls in floral dresses then commenced shrieking in a way that started to resemble a child's tantrum. There's a bit of an appeal to their contrast of cutesiness and edginess; it was quite easy to get sucked into the droning bass lines and tight drumming.
Perhaps a little out of place among the line-up of bands for the evening, Lonely Hearts brought about a real change of pace. A portion of the crowd mistook their atmospheric blend of twinkly, high-pitched guitar parts and airy pad synth sounds as being background noise, but the audience members who stayed attentive were fortunate enough to cop a really mesmerising performance of something that's best described as being along the lines of Bladerunner meets an '80s cop show.
Camperdown & Out didn't seem all that interested in performing. That isn't to say their set wasn't fun; an enthusiastic drummer strengthened the experience and extracted a bit of excitement amidst the chorus of half-hearted Pavement-esque vocals.
Bed Wettin' Bad Boys took to the stage with a natural ease. After introducing themselves in a nonplussed manner, the Bad Boys played with an infectious amount of energy, encouraging audience members to be just as animated. Things got a little formulaic – there's only so much you can do with three-chord punk – but the dedicated crowd either didn't notice or simply weren't fazed and went on dancing regardless.
Despite a lot of repetition, the dominance of garage punk-influenced music was very appropriate for the venue.
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