Hockey Dad took over Enmore Theatre on Saturday night (8 September) and it was as sweaty and chaotic as everyone expected.
With their new record, 'Blend Inn', released earlier this year, Hockey Dad continue to dominate the surf-rock scene in Australia. If their (almost) sold out 'Join The Club' tour is anything to go by, then I'm sure we can only expect bigger and better things from the Windang duo.
With an all-ages crowd and the likes of Totty and Tiny Little Houses as supports, this was the show that the kids had been waiting for.
I'm not sure what time the crowd turned up, but the streets of Enmore were packed full of borderline hysterical fans, all waiting to sprint through the doors of the venue; everyone jostling for that coveted front row position.
When Totty took to the stage, the dancefloor was already half full, which is certainly not an easy feat for supports at Enmore Theatre. Loud and as raucous as ever, lead singer Kelly Jansch was clearly having more fun than anyone else in the crowd.
As someone who's seen Totty before (and absolutely loved them), I thought that their set fell a little flat. Maybe it was the constant drone of the bass guitar between tracks or the band giggling through tracks, but there was just something that seemed a little 'off' on Saturday night.
The younger crowd still seemed to enjoy their set, bouncing off each other in the mosh and screaming along to their tracks.
I hate to admit it, but Tiny Little Houses (TLH) emerged to a room full of people who really only wanted to see Hockey Dad. With a dramatic change of pace (and to a point, genre), the crowd decided to divert their attention and energy into sprinting around the venue and uploading messages to the Facebook event story.
It was pretty heartbreaking to see such an incredible band disregarded by so many of the patrons.
I've been wanting to catch TLH for quite a while now and I've gotta say, it was worth the wait. It was so great to see a band that works so well together and can deliver such a polished set.
Their track 'Get Out' really hit me in the feels; their lyrics really encapsulated that feeling of being trapped in a country town. If you didn't make it out to see TLH, you should definitely give their record a spin. Trust me when I say that it's well worth your time.
By the time Hockey Dad came out, the room (and the balcony) was heaving with hyped-up under-age kids in overalls and ironic t-shirts. The mosh was a sea of phones as they launched into their opening track 'Disappoint Me', sending the crowd into a frenzy.
One of the most impressive things about Hockey Dad live is that it's almost impossible to decipher their live sound from their recorded tracks; Zach Stephenson's voice is pristine, hitting each note as you'd expect to hear it on their records.
Things really started to heat up as the band launched into 'Laura'; the balcony began to sag and bounce as the audience in the stands jumped from their seats; it was a (more than) mildly concerning situation from where I was standing.
Of all the shows I've seen at Enmore Theatre, this one has got to go down as the wildest. Even drummer Billy Fleming was shocked by how hectic the crowd was. I for one, definitely didn't expect to see kids launching themselves from the balcony into the crowd, but I guess there's a first time for everything.
If you've never been to a Hockey Dad show before, then maybe you should try and grab a last minute ticket to their 'Join The Club' tour. It's going to be a sweaty, outrageous mess; but trust me when I say it's worth the chaos, just to see one of Australia's biggest bands at the top of their game.
