"A room full of sweat, shoeys and rock'n'roll was more enchanting than you would expect."
To open the night Morning TV brought their deep vocal drones and upbeat melodies to the stage, creating a really interesting sound. They definitely didn't mimic how boring actual morning TV is, particularly if you're watching The Morning Show. Then the boys from Adelaide's Horror My Friend took to the stage with a booming fusion of punk and beach-rock with a hint of screamo. The audience seemed to enjoy the vibes as they bounced along to the songs. The band ended their set with their track PB Remains, which was the standout as it was really mellow in the verses but exploded for the chorus, getting the crowd pumped for Hockey Dad.
By the time Hockey Dad graced the stage, Oxford Art Factory was packed with keen punters. From the beginning of the show it was totally wild, the audience were getting up on stage, jumping and crowd-surfing continuously. By the time they played sweet tune Laura - "I can't help it/She's too perfect" - the whole venue was pumping. A Night Out With was flawless - vocalist and guitarist Zach Stephenson ploughing through the set with complete ease while William Fleming heightened everything with his emotive and skillful drumming. The songs in their set sounded so rounded and full you could have mistaken them for a typical four-piece rather than a duo.
As the set continued the venue got steamier with each tune. The crowd broke out in a heavy sweat while jamming out and crowd-surfing and both of the boys were dripping by the time they played their recent triple j Like A Version of Malibu by Hole — "I'm so close to getting naked," laughed Stephenson. Raygun was a real standout, the riff so killer and catchy throughout. To end they ran through their hits I Need A Woman and Seaweed before playing Beach House as an encore. The crowd screamed, "Up the boys!" and the band replied, "Nah, this one's for the girls". A room full of sweat, shoeys and rock'n'roll was more enchanting than you would expect.