Many an eager fan lined up outside The Evelyn Hotel, awaiting the first Melbourne show from Atlanta pop-punks Cartel, on their first Australian tour outside of Soundwave. Twenty tickets short of a sell out, the cosy band room was nevertheless well and truly packed.
One of the most recent additions to Melbourne’s pop-punk scene, Sidelines, kicked the night off in a feel-good and friendly fashion, which would continue for the remainder of the night.
The five-piece lead the mostly still crowd through a set of songs bearing similarities to the sounds of fellow Aussie band Kisschasy.
A cover of Bryan Adams’ ‘Heaven’ scored them some attention, as did the vocal harmonies of four of the five members.
Another local band, The Playbook, was next on the bill, their set showcasing a slightly rockier punk-pop edge. Choruses and catchy guitar riffs resembled the style of New Found Glory, yet the crowd remained almost completely stagnant.
Upon completion of their set, the five members joined the audience off stage, just as keen to see the headliners themselves.
Joining Cartel on the entire Australian tour was Melbourne’s We Rob Banks. Leading lady Rebecca Hamond’s incredible vocals immediately set them apart from the rest.
Their catchy tunes brought to mind a cross between Tonight Alive and Closure In Moscow, a brilliant blend of lyrics to sing along to and likeable guitar sounds. However, their performance was lacking a live set of keys, the five-piece relying on pre-recorded material to do the job.
The humble bunch played material from their debut EP The House Of Gonzo, an attractive collection that will only lead to bigger and better things to come. Full length album on the way? Here’s hoping!
A team fist-pump between the members of Cartel marked the beginning of their hour-long set.
Screams from the mostly female crowd transpired as the ever so popular ‘Luckie St.’ commenced, however, with little encouragement from the quartet, the keen crowd remained almost motionless throughout. The audience sang along to almost all of the songs, but little more than a head bop or foot tap ever occurred.
Admirably, the band rarely stayed still themselves between each catchy number, including a mixture of both old and new.
As Cartel wound their way through ‘If I Fail’, The Perfect Mistake’, ‘Deep South’ and Tonight’, frontman Will Pugh did little but thank the crowd between songs, clearly packing in as many as possible in their time slot. Often artists spend too much time talking to the audience rather than performing, but extra crowd encouragement would have done the room’s environment some good.
Pity the back-up vocals were occasionally unpleasant, but it only further highlighted the talent and distinctive voice of Pugh.
The stone-footed throng finally began to come to life during the ever so popular ‘Faster Ride’, and hands were raised clapping along to ‘Let’s Go’.
A lengthy instrumental intro, including a guitar solo, built up some enthusiasm for ‘Runaway,’ and as Cartel left the stage a “one more song” chant began. Although the crowd barely moved the entire time, their devotion was well and truly evident.
The two song encore, which strangely didn’t include the highly anticipated ‘Wasted’, consisted of crowd favourite ‘Lose It’ and Cartel’s well known cover of Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ – a surprisingly dull choice of closing song.
Although the fans weren’t at all energetic or hyped by the end of the show, a feel-good and satisfied consensus was apparent as they flooded out of the doors.
– Mairéad Bilton-Gough
