Andrew Reviews Dear Seattle, Heaps Good Friends and TOWNS at Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney

May 21, 2019
by Andrew Becker
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Whenever you’re in a new country, seeing local live music is one of the most essential things you can do to properly understand the place you’re in. And that’s exactly what Andrew from Brooklyn did on his recent trip to Australia, catching three of the country’s best up and coming bands at last week at Oxford Arts Factory in Sydney. Here’s what he had to say about it:

Over the week I spent in Sydney, Australia, I found myself frequenting two establishments with my evenings. The first was the Lansdowne Hotel in Chippendale, where live music, cheap drinks and friendly folks rule the nighttime. The second: the Oxford Arts Factory in Darlinghurst, where I experienced the Sydney concert scene in stark contrast to how it had been described to me. What many had painted as boring and dead on account of the city’s lockout laws was anything but on Saturday night, as fans flocked to the OAF to see local heroes Dear Seattle put on one of the most hectic shows I’ve seen in my lifetime. With two Adelaide bands — Heaps Good Friends and TOWNS — in tow, one of Australia’s bet up and coming hard rock bands tore the roof of the joint…figuratively speaking, of course.

The first act to grace the stage was South Australian two-piece TOWNS. With vocal duties shared between drummer Daniel Steinert and guitarist Aston Valladares, the duo riff off the crowd and each other at an alarming pace. While many bands plan their setlist out to the millisecond, TOWNS are the rare breed that feed off the energy in the building and aren’t afraid to improvise. “We fuck around a lot onstage,” Steinert said to the crowd towards the end of the set. “That’s why we don’t have a lot of time left.”

TOWNS

But the time they did have they utilized masterfully. Sandwiched in between originals was a cover medley consisting mostly of ’90s television theme songs, including “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts from Friends and “You’re Not the Boss of Me” by They Might Be Giants from Malcolm in the Middle. A risky move, but they knew their audience: the medley had the max capacity crowd singing at full volume. After ending with singles “I Don’t Mind” and the absolute belter “Safe to Stay,” the band retired backstage–only for Steinert to come back out for the next act: the prolific percussionist also plays in Heaps Good Friends.

And friends, let me tell you something: these guys are indeed heaps good. Between you and I, they’re one of my favorite acts not just in Australia, but in the world today. Their music is undeniably compelling; sonically and lyrically distinct while also being somehow so relatable at the same time. I’ve been hooked ever since I first heard their song “Let’s Hug Longer” back in 2017, which they’ve followed up with gem after gem after gem. All of which they played for an ever-growing and impressed crowd, including a few people–myself included–moving like absolute maniacs.

Let's Hug Longer

Onstage, the band’s charisma takes what the studio gives and brings it up ten degrees. Frontwoman Emma Fradd’s dance moves are nothing short of exemplary, like if the biggest rockstar at your local karaoke bar forwent time-worn classics for unique and out-of-the-box originals. Oh, and she can downright shred on guitar, as her solos in “I Could Eat a Full Packet of Yo-Yos” and “Cry Like a Psycho” proved to everyone.

On bass and keys is Nick O’Connor, a man whose production skills are expert yet original, and whose bass face rivals that of Este Haim. His command of the unconventional is obvious in the choppy, fun, and supremely danceable synths of HGF’s music, and it’s no different live: “put your hands DOWN” he playfully instructed the crowd–eschewing the tired and oft-used command of the audience to put up their hands and reclaiming it for Heaps Good Friend-kind. And of course, it’s all tied together by the the silly, frenetic, and lovable Steinert–whose drums make HGF’s songs absolutely pop off live.

Heaps Good Friends

Then of course came the main course: Dear Seattle. The grunge rockers from Sydney’s Northern Beaches have garnered plenty of acclaim all around Australia for their debut LP Don’t Let Go, released back in February. This being a hometown show, though, I expected the crowd to be next level. As it turns out, even my expectations weren’t high enough.

I watched the show from a bench perched on the balcony looking directly over the crowd and the stage, and I’m glad I did, because what I witnessed from the first strum of the first chord can only be described as pandemonium. The moshing came fast and furious and did not let up throughout the entire show. Fans were on other fans’ shoulders, folks were crowdsurfing, several people came up onstage only to dive into the arms of the crowd, with mixed results: some were caught and carried til they could be let down easy; others went face first into the pavement. I was honestly surprised venue security didn’t step in, but it all seemed to be going relatively smoothly, with no one getting hurt or causing a big disruption–save for the one fellow who accidentally unplugged frontman Brae Fisher’s guitar pedals. The band, to their credit, were unflappable: “we like it when you guys come onstage” Fisher said during the pause to put his pedal setup back together. “But just be careful.” (They then proceeded to pick up where they’d left off in the middle of “Afterthought” without missing a beat).

Dear Seattle

While a show like this would never go off back home in the States, it seemed strangely apt for Sydney–though my Aussie friends who’d joined me did say that this show was unusually hectic, even by Australian standards. And it made sense, with Dear Seattle ripping off belter after belter from their debut album. Songs like “Daytime TV” and “The Meadows” delighted; the latter sending the crowd into a frenzied singalong with its short, sweet, and to the point chorus of “fuck being sad/I’m so over it.” And it wasn’t just the punters who paid to see the gig getting in on the fun: Nick from Heaps Good Friends appeared onstage a few times to hand out ice and water like the wholesome boy he is, while the guys from TOWNS partook in a little stage diving themselves.

While some of the biggest cheers of the night came for the songs “Try” and “Maybe”–two of the most popular singles off Don’t Let Go–the show’s crowning moment came during the encore: the album’s final closing track “I Keep Dreaming.” Written about his father who passed away in a surfing accident when he was young, Fisher dedicated the song to his mother, who was in the audience that night. It was a fitting ending to an evening full of emotional catharsis, exercise, and above all, fun. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my penultimate night in Australia.