Live Review: Jay Penaflor, Ministry Of Plenty, The Pacifics

Tuesday night on High Street, Northcote offers the opportunity to sneak into a hot bandroom like the one at Bar 303 to check out some of the next crop of talent finding their way through Melbourne's music scene. The Pacifics take to the stage. A false start here and there would derail a lesser group, but the three-piece give it their all, channelling Arctic Monkeys and at times Real Estate in their sound. They're the kind of band that you're happy to pay $8 to go and see: young, raw and full of exuberance. Oh, and their bass player is fucking rad too. Next up is Ministry Of Plenty. Tight, but with enough flexibility to not seem out of place on a midweek bill, the trio at times showcase an angular type of sound – but in a good way, kinda like David Bowie or Talking Heads – and often juxtapose this with a melodic bent on other songs. There's no real standout track or band member; rather, Ministry Of Plenty are more than the sum of their parts and it's a treat to watch them take another step in their career tonight. Jay Penaflor is headlining this evening's triple-header, and with his rotating band joining him at various stages throughout this 30-minute set, it's a pleasure to watch him do his thing. Opening with an acoustic cover of Bowie's In The Heart Of The Morning is unorthodox, but as he introduces his back-up singers, and finally his rhythm section, he really hits his stride. There's something about Penaflor's voice that calls to mind Jake Bugg and, whether or on this is deliberate, it works for the guy. He's much more impressive with an electric guitar in his hands, and another cover, this time of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart, gives the song a washed-out quality while remaining faithful to the original.