Live Review: SixFtHick, Velociraptor, SPOD, WHALEHOUSE

With the ever-controversial Australia Day looming with the next dawn, and the promise of a day off work, Fortitude Valley has pulled out all the stops to provide punters with the best our little city has to offer.

With bands like Confidence Man and FeelsClub playing downstairs at The Elephant Hotel, and the enigmatic Nick Cave playing at Riverstage, this writer ventures upstairs to the much-beloved Foundry, where Brisbane veterans SixFtHick are joined by local legends Velociraptor for one amazing ‘Together At Last’ show.

Joining them on the night and starting everyone off with a dance and a shout is local punk trio WHALEHOUSE (all one word, capital letters, they remind us) and they are loud and fierce and ready to party! Sexy Whale Beach Party, that is, as after a few old favourites, they launch straight into their latest single, which gets the crowd moving and shouting every word back. All three members of the band, Zoe Wilson, Sonya Chamberlain and Amy-Rose Lawson, are super-engaging in between songs, encouraging and exchanging witty remarks with their audience. After an exciting, punchy set, the girls proudly debut new song Hot Chips, to the delight of their ecstatic fans, and call it a night.

After barely a few minutes between sets, the sound of SPOD working his magic on stage fills the room like rumbling thunder. It’s eerie, it’s fascinating, it’s sending goosebumps like a wave over everyone in the room. The atmosphere has suddenly changed, from erratic and ecstatic, to something awe-inspiring and spine-tingling. SPOD is a one-man talent machine.

Some more time passes while the massive collective that is Velociraptor prepare themselves to play, and punters run between the bar, bathrooms and merch desk, ducking out for cigarettes with worry written over their faces, hoping they don’t miss a second of the ferocity that frontman Jeremy Neale brings to the set. Within minutes of the first song being belted out, the room is packed to the brim of jumping, screaming, die-hard fans. There’s hit after hit, such as Riot, Hunk With A Hunch, and fan-favourite Ramona, and the venue echoes with the number of voices singing (or screaming) along.

Up next is SixFtHick, a band largely recognised and revered as being one of the best in Brisbane (some might say the business) — as if the line-up could get any better. Having been around for over 20 years, the five-piece have certainly learnt their way around a stage, as brothers Geoff and Ben Corbett shout song after song to the manic throng of people pressing themselves against the stage. The presence they emanate leaves nothing to be desired as this writer wonders why they haven’t been pushed to the very forefront of Australia’s rock'n'roll industry.