One of the most iconic indie-rock bands ever to come out of Australia, The Hummingbirds, have been given the cover treatment in New York City recently.
Following the dissolution of the Bug Eyed Monsters back in 1986, a group of Sydney musicians came together to form a brand new band. Consisting of guitarist and singer Simon Holmes, bassist John Boyce and drummer Mark Temple, the group soon recruited vocalist Alannah Russack in to complete the lineup of what would become The Hummingbirds.
Before long, the group were playing live, recording their own music, and starting their journey towards becoming one of the most respected bands in Aussie music. While the group broke up in 1993, they played occasional reunion gigs over the years.
However, following the tragic passing of Simon Holmes last year, any hopes of further reunion performances from the group have now ceased.
Now, some of the biggest names in the new school of indie-rock have come together to pay tribute to the group, performing their debut single ‘Alimony’ in New York.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhNPhIl2ikQ
As Stereogum points out, Canada’s Alvvays are currently out on tour with Snail Mail and Brisbane’s Hatchie as support acts. While performing at the Warsaw in Brooklyn on Friday night, the group decided to close out their set with a cover of The Hummingbirds’ classic tune.
While Alvvays have been known to occasionally end their performances with a cover of the track, this isn’t actually the first time that they’ve brought out a musician from The Hummingbirds’ home country to help deliver a performance of the track.
Back in 2016, Alvvays were actually joined by a couple of members of The Hummingbirds to help perform the track while they were on their debut tour of the country. While there’s no word as to whether we’ll ever see something like this again on Aussie shores, we can only hope!
Check out The Hummingbirds’ ‘Alimony’:
Alvvays @ Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY, USA 28/09/2018 Setlist
‘Hey’
‘Atop A Cake’
‘In Undertow’
‘Plimsoll Punks’
‘Lollipop (Ode To Jim)’
‘Not My Baby’
‘Forget About Life’
‘Your Type’
‘Amish Paradise’ (“Weird Al” Yankovic cover) (Snippet)
‘Adult Diversion’
‘Echolalia’
‘Archie, Marry Me’
‘Dreams Tonite’
‘Party Police’
‘Next Of Kin’
Encore:
‘Saved By A Waif’
‘Alimony’ (The Hummingbirds cover) (with Snail Mail & Hatchie)
