Fad Bar was awash with musos and fashionable looking drug addicts Sunday evening as they all temporarily came out of hiding, dusted the crusty vomit from the night before off their skinny jeans, and braved the sun for the very first Chinatown Get-Down. The evening was spent in a happy, drunken haze for most of its attendees, with some of Melbourne’s best up and coming musical acts gracing our very lucky eardrums.
First up, was the delightfully sweet Harmony Byrne. It would be hard to say anything bad about this girl. While it was just a simple acoustic set, she radiated an infectious joy, and when she sang she seemed to convey a wisdom and truthfulness very rare to see in someone so young.
Next on was Strangers From Now On, their dark sound juxtaposing the light produced by Harmony very nicely. While the twangy guitar followed the 60s theme of the night, teamed with singer Gabriel’s smoky and theatrical voice, this band’s style is ambiguous to say the least.
Bluesy rockers The Thod graced the stage, fresh from their album launch days earlier. Always great fun to watch, it’s obvious all eight members of this band absolutely love what they’re doing. If you haven’t seen these guys before, they are definitely worth a look!
Dark horse Dirt Farmer really turned up the heat. Although they’re relatively new to the scene, it certainly isn’t obvious when you see them play. Both charismatic and enigmatic, their Velvet Underground inspired brand of bluesy, surf-infused rock and roll is rocky enough to be pleasing to the too cool muso type, and poppy enough to be lapped up by a more mainstream audience. Definitely a band worth checking out.
The Messengers then took to the stage like a whore to a seedy motel. Another band which is always brilliant to see live, The Messengers have revamped the classic 60s garage rock and roll sound very nicely, and are great fun to have a bit of a drunken dance to.
After the non-stop rock and roll of the last 3 bands, Jimmy Hawk’s dreamy vocals and shadowy instrumentation was really the perfect place to end up. Each song tells it’s own little story and seems to be its own vital little piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is Jimmy Hawk – a very interesting and captivating individual to watch indeed.
There isn’t a whole lot to be said about psychedelic gurus Demon Parade that hasn’t been said in the local press before, and for good reason. They played new song ‘Chameleon’ brilliantly for a first time run through, and even though you’ve all seen them before, their new stuff is certainly worth checking them out again very soon.
The night ended on the soulful sounds of sizzling dynamos White Boyz Can’t Funk – their performance proving that white boyz can indeed funk. These guys definitely get you up and dancing, and even though they had some stiff competition with Leonard Cohen showing up at Ding Dong down the road, they managed to put on a great performance.
All in all it was a very enjoyable night, and if you didn’t make it, it is definitely worth checking out the next Kool-Aid event at Fad Bar. Whether you’re a diehard sixties rock and roll fan, or just looking for a fun night out, they always deliver.
Ella Jackson
