Monday night gigs can be a challenge, but this particular one, on the eve of a public holiday (24 April), may as well have been on a Saturday; and it was very clear by the mood of the packed Stay Gold that there wouldn't be many people setting alarms for the Anzac Day dawn service the next morning.
The crowd was also down early to catch a blistering set from local favourites Pinch Points.However, judging by the rush of fans at the door as Cloud Nothings came on stage, it was clear the Cleveland, Ohio, indie-rock trio were the stars of the night. The rush also could have been because of the early headline band time of 9.30pm, almost unheard of in Melbourne
The band were out for the Australian leg of their tour of their seminal album 'Attack On Memory', released in 2012. Unlike most 'retrospective album' tours, Cloud Nothings had absolutely no intention of playing songs in the order they appear on the record.
While this reviewer was a little disappointed, at the same time track two 'Wasted Days' really has a place as the closer live.
That in mind, the band kicked off their set in the same way as their slot at Melbourne's Daydream festival two days earlier (with 2014's 'I'm Not Part Of Me'), but soon got stuck into the 'Attack On Memory' tracks: 'No Sentiment', 'Fall In', 'Separation', 'No Future/No Past', 'Stay Useless', 'Cut You' and 'Our Plans' were spread across the main part of their set.
Then, a few more from 2014's 'Here And Nowhere Else' – 'Pattern Walks', 'Just See Fear', 'Psychic Trauma' – a bit of 2017's 'Life Without Sound' ('Enter Entirely'), and before long the band were off the stage.
It was a wonderful, fast-paced, loud and nonstop aural assault, with a hyped-up crowd down the front threatening to get the crowdsurfing going throughout the set.
If you weren't down the front, however, it took some work to find a good vantage point, because it turns out Cloud Nothings have a lot of very, very tall fans. (Fortunately, some couches at the back were made good use of, with venue staff very kind about it.)
The band came back for a couple more songs, 2009's 'Can't Stay Awake' for the longtime fans and, as mentioned earlier, eight-minute epic 'Wasted Days'.
Frontman Dylan Baldi is electric on guitar, and the three players are such a tight unit that their live show really adds something to their sound. They've never been a crowd-banter act, and true to form on this night they let their music do all the talking.
As sweaty, happy punters filed out onto Sydney Rd, with many looking to kick on nearby, everyone looked both excited and relieved to have a public holiday recovery day ahead of them.
