Live Review: The Griswolds, Sons Of Rico, LANKS

Greeted by the odd punter's whoops and cheers, a small crowd begins to assemble as LANKS takes to the stage.

Embracing the crowd right from the first song, they’re bopping around, which contrasts to their smooth, synth-heavy music. The crowd grows bigger and closer as their set goes on. LANKS pulls out a flute near the end of his set, and then finishes with latest single Brave Man.

As soon as Sons Of Rico kick off their set, the dancing begins. The crowd instantly shuffles forward, drawn in by the faster beat and impressive falsetto of lead singer Alex MacRea. With expert harmonising and a killer stage presence Adjustable Value, their current single, and Against The Grain warms everyone up nicely for The Griswolds.

Kicking things off slowly with Right On Track, The Griswolds are obviously excited to be back in Australia. A smooth transition into 16 Years gets the crowd going again, as lead singer, Christopher Whitehall says: "It’s so fucking good to be here and it's so fucking good to be starting the tour in Melbourne,” to cheers from the crowd.

The Courtship Of Summer Preasley makes the crowd go mental, the room filling with contagious energy. Everyone’s singing along, prompting Whitehall again – "Man, we never really expected it to be this fucking cool, thank you so much. You guys are blowing us away.”

Aurora Borealis is next, as the boys tease the crowd with the riff from current single Beware The Dog everyone begins to cheer. Smirking slightly, they go into Mississippi, prompting cheers and hands in the air.

After a little bit of an album plug, The Griswolds play more songs from their debut set Be Impressive and start having a bit of banter about their time in the USA, a smooth gateway into America.

Beware The Dog is next, and the room is pumping, every single person singing along, almost drowning out Whitehall’s voice. Everyone joins in for a great big "woo!" at the end, fists shooting into the air.

Finishing with Heart Of A Lion, the energy in the room is electric, and when The Griswolds leave the stage the curtain doesn’t close - everyone knows what’s coming. After encoring with Down And Out, almost everyone trickles into bar afterwards - always a sign of a great gig.