live music review: the holidays, east brunswick club, april 10 2011
Only just back from their wild trip in Texas for the recent SXSW festival, The Holidays are on the road again for their Seven Million Mornings tour. These four Sydney students have come a long, long way, and their showmanship and sound quality is a testament to that. You can tell that they have a lot of fun to unleash in Australia before jetting off once again, to the UK this time.
It was a warm and friendly atmosphere at the East Brunswick Club, you could tell that everyone was looking forward to topping off their weekend with a great show. Ballarat kids, Gold Fields, opened the show, expressed their love for the headlining act, played some great music and overall, did an excellent job warming up the crowd. Their sound is infectious and groovy, and they finished up by announcing a house party in Bendigo after Groovin’ The Moo (good luck, guys).
As they were sound checking, the anticipation was palpable. The curtain swept back and there they were, voicing their appreciation to the audience for coming out on a Sunday night (for their second sold out show). Easing into their set with ‘Heavy Feathers’, the crowd surged forward and into a hazy sway. Next up was ‘Moonlight Hours’, which had a few people singing along, but nothing like when ‘Broken Bones’ started, their widely acclaimed debut single. With everything in full swing, ‘Indian Summer’ had everyone bopping, and to be honest, it was probably one of my favorites of the night. There was a slight pause when frontman Simon Jones admitted he was being scolded by his band for not following the setlist, and mixing up the songs, but it was all good, he took a swig of his drink and the crowd laughed along.
I had interviewed drummer Andrew Kerridge about a month ago, and asked him how it was having percussionist David Zucker touring with them, and he said it was fun, but you have to see them live to really get how much fun. David let loose for the song ‘Conga’, and it was good. There was a tambourine and an infectious beat that I really didn’t expect. Once again, Simon was corrected when he played a little known track from their B-side, called ‘Triangle’, as it was supposed to be their encore, but this time by a fan, who Simon congratulated on being at their show two nights in a row, and treated him to a high five.
It’s pretty obvious that they know how to work a crowd, how to catch on to the intimacy and friendliness, and Simon professed his love for Melbourne, and how each show always stands out (he also agreed that it sounds like the biggest cliché to say that, but he means it nonetheless). They finished off with favorites, ‘A Million Eyes and Golden Sky’, to a resounding applause and though their Melbourne shows are over, you can tell that they’ve done their absolute best to solidify a loyal fanbase.
Oh, and as a side note, David Zucker, at the back, is definitely loved and appreciated as a touring member of The Holidays. As one fan said loudly, “Man, that guy, that percussion guy, he is the king”.
