Live Review: Max Chillen & The Kerbside Collective, FeelsClub, First Beige

On a muggy Brisbane night, people crowd into iconic venue Black Bear Lodge for what is sure to be a glittering, sweaty pop show anyone would be sad to miss: local fashionados Max Chillen & The Kerbside Collective are back in town after their recent east coast tour for new EP Dead Gorgeous.

Starting the night off after a short delay, dream-pop darlings First Beige fill the room and get our bodies moving. It’s a sweaty sight, but there’s nothing short of delight in this small room as both friends and family enjoy a short but sweet set, complete with quirky banter and short conversations with the audience from several members of the band. They’re young, but their enthusiasm and passion is obvious.

Turning the game on its head after a short break is the champagne-saturated dance-pop group FeelsClub. This five-piece fill the stage comfortably, a close-knit group of friends made closer by their recent NSW/QLD tour for recent single 1x1. Frontman St Jonnie holds his microphone close, crooning softly to a captivated audience before the tune abruptly changes to something faster, something exciting, and people start to dance and crowd in closer. Belting out single Come On early, they move on to fan favourite Kacha, which never fails to get the hips moving. Their set ends with modern-day love song Alone/Lonely, leaving the crowd drowned in sweat with a shower of fresh flowers being thrown everywhere.

With a certain level of sophistication and a handful of sadness arrive Max Chillen & The Kerbside Collective. Another shower of flowers falls, the petals floating around the room and lying among the many instruments. Max Chillen frontman Darcy Rhodes sports some fantastic dark eye make-up as he stands centrestage, drawing all attention as his voice fills the room. The band themselves are a commanding presence as they play song after song, a few of their older ones such as Goodbyes and a few from their mesmerising new EP (Tour Guide, Reasons), as well as an amazingly honest cover of Billy Idol’s White Wedding. They finish an all-round stellar set with hit number Treat Me Rough and disembark the stage into the crowd so quickly you don’t even realise it’s over.

Max Chillen & The Kerbside Collective certainly live up to the hype they’ve so quickly garnered, and we look forward to the next time they grace us with a performance.