Live Review: Velociraptor, Sincerely, Grizzly, It's A Hoax

Local five-piece It's A Hoax look like a band that shouldn't fit together but somehow do. From the guitarists' contorted facial expressions to singer Kiah Lanagan's awkwardly sweet stage presence, it works. Angular guitars and direct lyrics drive their brand of indie-rock, which interested the slowly growing crowd.

Sincerely, Grizzly could be compared to an onslaught of '90s alt-rock bands but that wouldn't be fair. The Adelaide trio are experts at layering guitars to generate a sound that's dynamic and strangely comforting. Sporting a duct-taped guitar and Kate Bush T-shirt, frontman Joshua Calligeros faced away from the crowd, alternating between two different mics. Vocalists can become monotonous but Calligeros pushed expectations with screams, spoken word and even yelling into his guitar.

With an ever-rotating line-up, it's impossible to predict who from the Brisbane nine-piece will appear on stage on any particular night. Tonight there were six Velociraptor members, plus one light-up keytar and seat-less drum kit. Velociraptor crammed onto the tiny stage at Ed Castle, ignoring the smells of fried food and sweat, to bring some garage-pop to what would otherwise be another boring Thursday night.

They're simply a whole lot of wacky fun complete with gang vocals and hand-claps. The mosh pit beneath the stage transformed into a sweaty mess of bodies that succeeded in supporting some ambitious crowd surfers. 

Jeremy Neale is a peculiar frontman. Tonight he rambled on about American politics and was unfazed by persistent stage invaders or that one guy that thought it would be funny to request Reflective Skull. Sorry, wrong band. Current single Dollarmite pays homage to that long-forgotten banking club and, like any Velociraptor song, is injected with humour and fuzzy guitars. The dancing reached its peak at closer, Ramona, and the crowd had one last singalong. Velociraptor just want to have fun. They don't take themselves too seriously and they probably never will.