Live Review: The Goon Sax, Flowertruck, Solid Effort

Wollongong five-piece Solid Effort began the night with a rip-roaring set that switched manically between energetic, thrashy alt-punk and more contemplative jangly rock. The band's loose but energetic drum fills, keyboard noodling, and unpredictable song structure were endearingly chaotic, with plenty of woozy dissonance and mid-song gear shifts. Sounding like some crossbreed of Parquet Courts and The Go-Betweens, the band built up a huge amount of momentum, and set the wheels in motion for the night ahead.

Sydney's Flowertruck kept the energy high, with upbeat, new-wavey guitar and lush synth providing the backdrop for frontman Charles Rushforth's ever-so-slightly-deranged lead vocal. The band's danceable indie-pop packed a surprising amount of muscle in the live setting, and instantly had bodies bouncing around the room, particularly to fist-pumping single I Wanna Be With You. The band even managed to pull off an anthemic chorus while struggling with a broken bass string, hardly batting an eyelid as they rearranged the song in real-time. It seems as though the Flowertruck live experience could only really benefit from a crowd that knows every word — a wish that's bound to be granted before too long.

The crowd had become restless (and pretty drunk) during an inexplicably long gap between sets, and unfortunately the headliners' first half-dozen songs were just about drowned out by talking: a shame, because The Goon Sax really reward a close listen. At a glance, the trio's strummy dolewave is simple and extremely listenable, but the band's character really comes out in their composition and performance.

The band, while young, were confident on stage, and soon won the crowd over with undeniable tunes like Home Haircuts (about the real heartache that can come as a result of a dodgy 'do), and the extremely catchy Boyfriend. As well as cuts from their LP, the band showed off three or four new songs, the highlight of which was another refreshingly frank and upfront look at adolescence and love, from a band who are already preternaturally good at them.