Live Review: Deep Sea Arcade, Sons Of Rico, 44th Street

Deep Sea Arcade

Indie fans young and old descended on the Rosemount Hotel last Friday night, looking to forget the toil of the working week and kick off the weekend with some fun, energetic live music. “Things will get a little crazy here,” said vocalist and occasional guitarist Nik Thompson as the fresh-faced five-piece 44th Sunset pumped out a manic, fiery version of Blood Red Hand. Thompson and co-vocalist Jess Clancy worked up the crowd with Little Prince, exchanging dance moves à la Pulp Fiction and pulling the crowd closer to join in. Though young and still finding their bearings, they knew the stage well and will certainly do some great stuff in the future if they keep putting on shows like that.

In a sea of denim jackets and Aztec sweaters, Sons Of Rico delivered a wealth of catchy, well-written pop songs drawing on the likes of Supertramp and other '70s staples. From the T-Rex-inspired glam rocker You Don't Know What You're Missin', to the bouncy pop rhythms and high falsettos of triple j favourite This Madness, the Perth boys drew a huge response from the now-crowded venue.

Coming on to the tune of The Rolling Stones Under My Thumb and looking like they stepped out of a band shoot from a Nuggets compilation, Sydney quintet Deep Sea Arcade got the crowd moving and grooving with the upbeat rocker, Seen No Right. Swaggering about the stage like a hybrid of Davy Jones and Liam Gallagher, frontman Nic McKenzie told the audience “this is an oldie, but a goodie” before launching into the bright, poppy, Turtles-esque sound of Don't Be Sorry. While their three-minute pop singles got the crowd dancing, the boys also knew how to sufficiently rock out. Steam saw the first of many blistering bluesy solos by new guitarist James Manson and Black Cat sported a dirty Zeppelin riff and funky wah-drenched guitar interplay between Manson and Simon Relf.

The guys also threw in a rich psychedelic cover of the Chemical Brothers' Let Forever Be for good measure, featuring stabs on the organ by McKenzie and layers of reverb against a driving rhythm section by bassist Nick Weaver and drummer Carlos Adura. The band capped off the end of their set and the night with a dreamy, echo-laden version of Outlands. While offering no encore was a little anti-climatic, it was still clear Deep Sea Arcade had given everyone their money's worth; the girls got to dance, and the guys got to rock. A job well done lads.