Live Review: Spiderbait, Tuka, Fishing, Little Bastard, Sketch The Rhyme

Spicing up Sydney's live music scene was last week's opening of Jam Gallery, a custom-built live music venue set to shake up Bondi Junction's nightlife. And what better way to hold a grand opening party than with the official launch of Spiderbait's first studio album in almost a decade.

First up was a very unique performance by Sketch The Rhyme, bringing a thrilling combination of fast-paced illustrations combined with witty and charismatic freestyle battle raps in a game-show style of performance where MCs play off with live artists, whether its improvising a story or guessing a catchphrase. An extremely fun set and a great way to kick off. Next up was the seven-piece punk-string band Little Bastard with a very high-energy performance that had the steadily growing crowd paying attention. Incorporating guitars, bass, fiddle, banjo, harmonica, mandolin, and a load of voices, the guys were having a great time together on stage and brought an electricity to their set which was infectious and had the crowd going wild.

Spiderbait were next up, and since this is a very rare pub performance from a trio that have been together for almost a quarter of a century, the crowd lapped up every minute of it, pushing their way closer and closer to the stage. The venue had a very relaxed and intimate feel to it, where you virtually felt like you were on the stage with the bands. Playing a selection of old and new hits, Spiderbait proved that after all of these years, they've still got what it takes to deliver a stellar performance.  Crowd favourites were Calypso and Black Betty.

Bringing the night to an end were Tuka followed by Fishing, who kept the party atmosphere going with feet-tapping beats. This all-Australian line-up of amazing artists – in what is surely to become one of Sydney's hottest new music venues – made for one hell of a grand opening night. It's safe to say we can expect big things from the Jam Gallery.