The small intimacy of Thirroul's Urge Records - where crates full of vinyl both old and new were available to rummage through, while the amps of local support band Space Boys bounced heavy distorted guitars off the walls - perfectly captured a gritty, DIY, punk-rock aesthetic. The suitable venue gave these guys a perfect place to express their outlandish take on alt-rock in a small, contained environment.
The next two support bands toned down on the abrasiveness but kept the youthful energy alive. Canberra trio Dalmacia had plenty of support for their indie tunes, thanks in large part to a community of mates in attendance. They topped off their set with a ripper, nostalgic cover of Backstreet Boys' Everybody (Backstreet's Back). The Nah followed this up with spooky, disco-rock tracks but were cut short due to equipment and technical issues.
Friendly, chatty and undeniably punk, Wet Lips arrived on stage next and performed a refreshingly updated garage-rock show that still had all of the gritty power chords and bravado stances but did away with the sluggish, dickhead behaviour that has been known to plague this genre in the past. Lead singer Grace Kindellan led the way for more open-minded inclusivity at rock shows by acknowledging the original custodians of the land and accentuated the importance of creating a welcoming gig environment for all attendees.
The three-piece played plenty of tracks from their self-titled debut album, which kept punters focused and intrigued with a bit of boogieing in between. Kindellan's fast-paced guitar chords chugged along steadily with Jenny McKechnie's bass all night - their garage-rock sound resonated in this tight space. Their exasperated 'over it' tone rang honestly as Wet Lips lost themselves in the music. However, some of the best parts of their set came in between these vocal lines when the lead women could interact with each other, and their new drummer Georgia Maggie, and rock out in pure bliss. This positive energy radiated with punters all night, injecting new energy into a traditional sound.
