“This one is dedicated to Mr Luke Penman. Congratulations on being an awesome motherfucker.” proclaimed Adelaide über-babe Carla Lippis as she took to the Jive stage with her band, The Rules.
The man in question, Luke Penman, responsible for the regular distribution of Adelaide music through the play/pause/play podcasts, presented the second play/pause/pause showcase gig tonight, featuring three more of this city’s great musical productions. Being an ‘awesome motherfucker’ is basically part of Penman’s M.O these days, and the levels of appreciation for the work he does was clearly obvious as local music fans began to filter through the Hindley Street venue’s doors.
Hawks of Alba are a band who haven’t been seen much around Adelaide for the past few months and it was with great sadness that I found out tonight would be the trio’s final show. Offering their last items of merchandise to the crowd for the price of a cuddle or two (nothing suss), the Hawks of Alba smashed out a set of their sun kissed indie pop tunes which got people in the mood to party early on. Sarah Masters has always been a joy to watch, both as a singer and guitarist, while Aidan Moyse was once again on form behind the drum kit. A drummer with fantastic technique and an awesome disposition to match, Moyse proved once again to be one of the great driving forces of the band. I’m sure we’ll see this bunch of musicians around the traps soon, but there was still a bit of a sad feeling in the air once they played the final song of their set.
Let’s get to The Rules. Carla Lippis has been spending much of 2012 with her other band, The Martial Hearts, but it didn’t mean that her vivaciousness was restricted to one group only. The pint sized vocalist can hold her own on any stage full of males, powering through songs and demonstrating some epic wails which left a lot of us in the crowd a tad gobsmacked. “Fits Like Leather” made its way to play/pause/play’s Best of Adelaide compilation, released only a few months before tonight’s party, and seeing it done live was a tad electrifying. I’m a fan of The Martial Hearts and Lippis has shown herself to be talented in whatever project she’s applied herself to, but I must say that I’m looking forward to seeing what new material The Rules eventually put together and release. It’s about time they were unleashed again.
Headlining tonight’s showcase was Sincerely, Grizzly, an Adelaide band I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a few times this year. They’ve had a pretty impressive 2012, supporting the likes of The Medics and launching their own record at various venues across the country – a hometown show in a setting like this almost seemed to be a perfect fit for a final gig of the year. These guys are fun and have grown considerably as a live act through the year, which is always nice to see, as a keen observer of this city’s music. The last time I saw the band’s frontman Joshua Calligeros, he was rocking out with Violent Soho and was in his element as guested on the band’s performance of “Muscle Junkie”. Tonight, he showed the same confidence as he led his band through the night’s main set of music. I enjoy the pace of the percussion and its marriage with the ferocity of the guitar which Sincerely, Grizzly have managed to make their signature style; though tonight’s show could have easily been taken a ‘show for mates’, easy to be half-assed, the band still brought it.
The night of music during play/pause/play’s latest presentation of live music, also dubbed #PPPParty, finished as quickly as it began and before long, the doors of Jive were opened for its weekly indie DJ night. For Penman and his supporters, you couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate Adelaide’s scene at this point in the year and for me, I couldn’t have asked for a better show to wind up my year in gig coverage in Adelaide.
#PPPParty on. Here’s to 2013.
