Live Review: Velcro, Hot Palms, The Creases, Dag, Thigh Master, Fred Savage Beasts

The day before the apocalypse sees a rather large cavalcade of bands convene at everyone on the south side's favourite local, the Greenslopes Bowls Club, interrupting the footy tipping comp with some rock and over-roll.

That savage beast Fred Savage Beasts kicks things off, and it's a delectable affair of well-composed ditties by the day-job Tape/Off frontman. The songs themselves range from unorthodox structures to semi-depressing lyrics and it's quite interesting to bear witness to. Brisbane's best band name, Thigh Master, are quite on the ball as well tonight, despite the mix lacking a level of oomph for the whole band set-up. The songs are tight and the brothers Ford naturally play off each other in the dirgy punk way that translates positively with the crowd tonight.

Following a quick break to admire the club's green come Dag, who follow the same lines of the Thigh, and once again things are top notch but volume still lacks. Frontrunner Dusty Anastassiou naturally drives the band and radiates sex appeal in the process, even if the set only lasts for a brief while and ideally should have been longer. The Creases follow and despite the group having some of the ugliest-looking instruments in town (the kinda kite-shaped guitar is enough to make anyone squirm) they actually do get some decent sounds out of them and the set itself is quite accessible and debatably the easiest on the pop meter on offer tonight. Hot Palms are a bit of an oddball when taken in the context of tonight's line-up. However the band bloody deliver an excellent set of post-rock that sees the band's seven-odd members utilise beer bottles as the leading form of percussion in amongst a sea of swirling guitars and melancholic tones. The sound for the group is some of the best of the night and compliments the band's mixture of electric and acoustic ideas. The set ends with the first taste of vocals from the group and after one verse it's all over, even though it felt as if everyone was getting warmed up for a few more hours of the group.

Closing the night, Velcro are enough to make anyone envious of them. They're young happy-go-lucky kids that make rather upbeat danceable tunes (as illustrated by the audience) and it feels as if everything is going alright for them. Well, their set most certainly did, and by the time the band are demanded to return for an encore it was evident that they'd won over the baiting masses. It was a great way to round the night in the first of hopefully many at this gem of a venue.