Live Review: Pretty City, Batz, Heloise, Plotz

Plotz open the evening with their smooth blend of garage, psychedelic and pop grooves. Another well-blended musical mix, Heloise get punters "boot scooting to the line section", as one drunk punter puts it. Frontwoman Eloise Thetford changes her instrumentation throughout the set; the crowd moves, in awe of her stage presence. As their rhythm section flourishes, more of Heloise's elements are highlighted. The crowd move forward several inches.

Batz break into their set with frontwoman Christina Aubry's sensual vocals, defiant guitars (The Delta Riggs' Alex Markwell filling in on lead) and phenomenal rhythm section. Beating down smooth rhythms upon the skins, drummer Joshua Aubry spits a mouthful of water onto the stage mid-chorus. Grooving through their set, the band's songs come in and out quickly. We move our feet to the beat, the audience shuffling closer to the stage. Christina Aubry shakes around the microphone, finding the right dance moves as the amplifiers bring a new feel to the room. Aubry draws out a long, "Heeeellllooo, motherfuckers! We are Batz!" They're straight back into their diverging set and, fuck! Are these guys the headliners!? We're encouraged to get even closer to the stage and we do. Within the crowd there's a couple pashing. Smothering body heat rises. Aubrey's down on the ground, shaking her silver-skirted ass. The guitarists bounce around, Josh Aubrey up on his kit spitting more liquid into the air. We're in awe as they bring their show to a close.

While pints are ordered by the dozen at the upstairs hole-in-the wall bar, anticipation builds for tonight's headline act. Pretty City take the stage. Quickly highlighting their immense sound, amplifiers deafen us. While we shimmy along to Piece Of The Puzzle, frontman Hugh Matthews' vocals coo. Moving around the stage, Matthews shares his energy with this distant crowd. They perform Running Around and Second Hand Clothes from their new LP, showcasing the variety of their catchy tunes. Smoke-machine smoke lingers above our heads as our hips shake to the rhythms. It's an ace performance by Pretty City, but Batz really are a hard act to follow.