Last Dinosaurs headed south to Melbourne’s Monash University Clayton campus as part of the fourth annual Music On Menzies mini music festival.
Joining the Brisbane natives on the bill were DJ acts Naysayer and Gilsun, Yacht Club DJs, Twinsy, and Return to Youth.
Set up in a grassy courtyard next to the Robert Menzies building, the makeshift-fenced-off-area was sparsely populated with young uni students as Return to Youth played their brief but enthusiastic set.
While alcohol was available, not to mention being very reasonably priced, not many people were drinking and hence most were sitting down with few students venturing up the front to really get amongst it all.
When Twinsy came on stage they managed to at least bring some of grass-dwellers up onto their feet and come down to the stage.
Again the audience was in for another short set, as the band only played a handful of songs. Despite their brevity the band put in a solid showing that was generally well received.
Naysayer and Gilsun are fairly well known by people in their early twenties and have gained notoriety for their ambitious and addictive free mash-up mixtapes posted online.
Judging by the reaction from the crowd, this was not the right audience for them, as the crowd, which was full of first year uni students, were probably a year or two too young.
That wasn’t the only problem preventing a party really starting. Their choice of songs to throw together was odd and there were few recognisable tracks in their set, a disappointment and a far cry from the brilliance that is their two mixtapes.
They would have also been better suited to a slot on the bill after Last Dinosaurs when more people had arrived, drunk more, and were likely to dance and enjoy themselves.
In the short space in between acts a large amount of people arrived for the main attraction, with around 400-500 students in attendance. Last Dinosaurs received a rousing reception upon walking onto the small cramped stage. They took a short while to get going before launching into their first song.
Around half way through their first number it became apparent the band members had probably been having a few of the reasonably priced beverages on offer whilst waiting to perform; starting off sounding slightly loose.
Luckily a few songs in they started to find their rhythm (as did the crowd) and the fun really began. Their set list was full of the best tracks from their critically acclaimed debut album In A Million Years.
Songs such as ‘Andy’ and ‘Weekend’ were clear crowd favourites and various parts of both songs led to boisterous shouting, at the right times, from the audience.
‘Time & Place’ was the standout performance of their (also brief) set, and featured many students enthusiastically chanting, “Nicola, we’ve gotta make a difference,” as if their lives depended on it.
A cover of ‘Lady Hear Me Tonight’ by Modjo, a song that has become a staple of their set, was clearly a popular choice judging by the reaction.
There was no doubt everyone was waiting for their best known track, ‘Zoom’, and the band didn’t disappoint, fittingly leaving it for the final song.
Whilst Last Dinosaurs entertained the crowd, well over half of those gathered dissipated shortly afterwards, leaving Yacht Club DJs to play to a rather modestly sized audience.
For those who left, it was undoubtedly their loss. Yacht Club played a killer set that included a whole host of well-known, fun, and abstract numbers.
From a warp speed version of Fun’s ‘Some Nights’, to Ludacris, Destiny’s Child, Red Hot Chili Peppers – all the way through to the more recent version of ‘Lady Marmalade’ as well as Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’.
Yacht Club got the (by-then) smaller crowd up and dancing, in a way Naysayer & Gilsun didn’t quite manage, due to the sheer number of recognizable songs they played. Their later set time and how much those watching had drunk by that stage certainly didn’t hurt either.
Whilst not quite managing a sellout, the annual student-managed event was well run, mostly on schedule, and well set out given the limited and makeshift space it was held in.
Those who attended looked to enjoy themselves even if the majority didn’t seem to be familiar with any of the acts other than the headliner.
