Live Review: The Preatures, The Creases, Glass Skies

It's a weird feeling when you realise those claims your parents made that music was way better in their day will soon be coming out of your mouth. Sometimes bands come along that are so classic you know you'll be forcing them onto a future generation with a mildly frantic insistence that "these guys just shaped the Aussie rock scene!" while clutching the band's 30th anniversary tour ticket to your heart. Enter: The Preatures.

A heavier brand of rock hit the stage first in the shape of Glass Skies, who were slightly weird but very cool. A nice opener for a crowd who knew what they were in for.

Nineties Brit indie fashion is so not dead, as proved by The Creases, who looked like your hipster older sister's favourite band from 20 years ago and sounded like a beautiful culmination of sounds spanning decades and genres. They jumped around on stage as audience members claimed, "I didn't know this song was by them!"

There was a short interval and then the whole venue was plunged into an atmospheric rock dream. Opening with Somebody's Talking, The Preatures were a ball of energy. Their sound and live performance appeal knows no bounds, given the spectrum of audience members captivated by singer Isabella Manfredi's incredible stage presence.

You seem to forget just how successful the band are until you find yourself singing along to nearly every song as hit after hit rang out from a nearly flawless setlist. The cheeky playfulness of the band was well-represented as they pumped out Ordinary and It Gets Better, every member of the band being totally present in the moment on stage.

Manfredi's stares could be considered slightly intimidating coming from anyone else, but she is so strangely mesmerising that the audience was gripped right from the start. "Are you guys ready to dance?" was the opening line to Is This How You Feel?, and boy, was the crowd ready to dance.

Their signature tribute to The Angels, Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again was met with good-natured profanities shouted back from the crowd and contributed to a high-energy vibe that didn't dip. As the band closed the show with tour track Cruel and a preview of a new song, the crowd was lost in appreciative and manic applause.

The Preatures are a generational gem to be proud of, and if their sound defines the music of our generation, then the future of the music scene really is looking bright.