Continuing their tour in support of their new EP, Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams, Melbourne folk-punk act The Smith Street Band played a sold out Annandale Hotel on Saturday night.
Kicking the night off, the soon to be defunct Milhouse played short set of nostalgically pop-punk sounding originals, and a quick cover of The Smith Street Band’s ‘Postcodes (For People Who Will Not Arrest Me)’ for good measure. It was a tight set, with a lot of great hooks and wonderful vocals from singer Thom Elder, and after they play their final shows at Poison City Weekender, the Sydneysiders will be missed.
American pop-punk trio Cheap Girls were up next. Though their drums and bass were solid, the vocals and guitar just weren’t strong enough, or inventive enough, to keep pace with the high calibre of performance on offer at The Annandale. They were ultimately enjoyable to listen to, but their performance just felt like a time killer before the main events.
There was a sense of excitement as LA pop-punk outfit Joyce Manor took the stage, and it turned out to be more than well founded.
Moving through their repertoire of short, punchy explosions of teen angst, the Californians had the Annandale rocking.
Set highlights included ‘Beach Community’ and ‘Leather Jacket’, who’s rolling bass lines and heavy riffs provided a stark contrast to Johnson’s strained but melodically brilliant vocals.
Finishing their set with ‘Constant Headache’, from their 2011, self-titled release, the band gave the crowd the best possible send off, leaving no doubts that the hype surrounding them is justified.
As The Smith Strand Band strolled out on to the stage, front man Wil Wagner’s puppy dog like enthusiasm filled the room from ceiling to floor.
Warming the crowd up with the title track of their new release, Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams, they followed this with the EP’s second song, ‘Ducks Fly Together’, which showcased the raw, explosive emotion, and poetically sentimental lyrics that really define The Smith Street Band.
Though they had already heard the song once tonight, courtesy of Milhouse, the unmistakable build up before ‘Postcodes (For People Who Will Not Arrest Me)’ got the crowd even more pumped up than they already were. The driving chords and Wagner’s cries of “I don’t wanna work no more, I’m gonna make you so proud of me”, echoed by the crowd at every opportunity, created a phenomenal atmosphere that shivers up the spine of everyone present.
The rest of the band then departed the stage, so that Wagner could perform a song about his sister, ‘My Little Sinking Ship’. The song’s emotion was evident both in his voice, and his face, with lyrics like “you said you were proud when I stopped smoking cigarettes, and I hope that you’re not disappointed that I started again” bringing a tear to the eye of even the hardest fans.
As the band returned to the stage, with Wagner’s promise of “more songs about drugs”, they fittingly launched into ‘I Can’t Feel My Face’. Musically and lyrically heavy, the strong, jumpy bass line and harsh chords were the perfect complement to Wagner’s semi-screamed lyrics.
From this, the set moved to ‘Young Drunk’, from 2012’s Sunshine And Technology. Though this started as a low key sing along, the band exploded into the first chorus, with its complex bass line and reflective lyrics, much to the crowd’s delight.
Though Wagner was sick, he managed one final song, fan favourite ‘Get High, See Mice’, which produced one of the strongest crowd reactions of the night. From its low key opening and Wagner’s haunting repetition of the line “But I’m not that young, and I’m not that dumb anymore” , to the shift in tempo and the heart-wrenching ending, the crowd echoed every word back to the band to wonderful effect.
Each of the bands had ample interaction with the crowd, with Johnson making sure an unsuspecting victim of a stage dive was alright during Joyce Manor’s set, and Wagner giving a hilarious speech about why people shouldn’t smoke meth, before taking a swig of whiskey, and giving the crowd a cheeky smile, terming it “a lesson in sobriety from your old mates the Smithies”. These interactions made what was already a fantastic spectacle just that little bit more memorable.
No matter how high the fans’ expectations, The Smith Street Band blew them all out of the water. Though their music is fantastic, the atmosphere and energy that the band, and especially Wagner, produce is incredible, and highlights why this little band from Melbourne consistently sell out shows throughout Australia. They’re off for a tour of Europe and America for now, but hopefully our “old mates the Smithies” will be back to wow us with their craft soon.
