Live Review: Flap!

Lead vocalist and trumpeter Eamen McNelis is baby-faced and charming. His five-piece band Flap! start the evening off unceremoniously with the heady, irresistible, foot-tapping (and stomping) tempo of 1920s jazz, swing, folk and lots of other genres bridging in between. But they all marry so well together in composition that it doesn't really matter. Tracks such as My Sweet Tatana Wife, Apocalypse, Come Down To My Funeral and The Northcote Rooster are consistently upbeat and written with the band's trademark wicked, wry humour regardless of subject matter. 

Jess Guille – exuberant in a poppy-red halter-neck top and large floral headpiece – launches into a song about a climbing accident she once had. Down, Down, Down is wince-inducing, but the band brush it off in their whimsical, lively style, the notes from McNelis' trumpet reminiscent of the 'wah-wah-waaahhs' that punctuate vaudeville performances or old Looney Tunes cartoons. Waving her ukulele in the air, Guille exclaims jubilantly (twice), “You are all going to fucking die!” before the band deliver a cover of Enjoy Yourself in double time. Never has a song about mortality sounded so cheerful and infectious. McNelis, who shares lead vocals with Guille, artfully alternates between rapid-fire prose and guttural growls at heightened moments. His real talent, however, is when he puts lips to trumpet. Between him and trombone player ­­­­­­­Don Stewart, the duo deliver enthusiastic solos and duets with sustained stamina.

Flap! play two sets with a longer-than-expected break in between. For most of the evening, youths crowd the tiny dancefloor, jostling for room to practise the Charleston, while the seniors happily tap their feet under white tablecloths. When the band are begged back for an encore, they surprise us with the slow-burning, seductive Take Off My Dress. Haunting, melancholic and reflective, it is one of the only two serious songs of the evening (the other being the historically inspired The Unfortunate Tale Of Billy Hunt) and mildly disappoints those who are expecting another upbeat number to close off the night. 

Flap! perform their last Australian show this year at the Hi-Fi on Saturday 13 July before leaving to support The Cat Empire on their European tour. Save the date for a guaranteed night of delirious dancing and merriment that would even make Jay Gatsby proud.