"They're the best band in Australia!" exclaimed Jem Cassar-Daley, talking about the band she was asked to support.
The young Brisbane artist, with a captivating voice, made the early bird crowd take notice, kicking off with 'Texas Ain't That Far, Is It Dear?', and continuing with a gorgeous set of tracks from the last couple of years, including her 2022 EP, 'I Don't Know Who To Call'.With a country tinge to her voice, the artist could easily fall into that genre thanks to the well-established path of her father Troy, but instead has chosen her own path, exploring pop and indie folk-style hits with a beautiful song-telling feel whether on keyboard or guitar.
Her cover of Caroline Polachek's 'So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings' was an inspired choice, giving the song her own unique feel before finishing with her own original 'King Of Disappointment'. Her songwriting is mature, voice is stunning, and stage presence is magnetic. Jem Cassar-Daley has a huge future ahead.
It's strange to think that The Preatures period of our lives was so short, but so sweet. They're a band that exploded quickly after meeting via schools in Sydney and became the hottest local band of the early '10s after winning the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition and landing a top ten song in the triple j Hottest 100.
The Preatures - image © Charlie Hardy
However, sometimes bands are hard to keep together and unfortunately, bit by bit, they fell apart. Guitarist Gideon Benson left the band just 18 months after their debut album; then things went sour with the then relationship between frontwoman Isabella Manfredi and guitarist Jack Moffitt.
The band intended to go out with a bang in 2020, but COVID-19 quickly scuppered those plans. Now, ten years on from their breakthrough debut album, 'Blue Planet Eyes', The Preatures appeared out of nowhere with their original line-up to play a return show at Sydney's Lansdowne Hotel. The question on everyone's lips being 'is this a one-off or the start of the next chapter?'.
With a packed house that sold out in six minutes, a significant venue considering the band have acknowledged it as the venue for their first show, the band burst onto the stage and straight in to 'Somebody's Talking'. It was like they'd never left.
The Preatures - image © Charlie Hardy
The guitar of Benson and Moffitt danced with the bouncing bass of Thomas Champion and drums of Luke Davison. That rockabilly swagger was back, that pulsating beat the band became so well-known for drove us to dance, but importantly Manfredi was back, owning the stage in a way only she can, a huge smile on her face as she spun around the stage, collapsed on the floor or splashed water over her head.
"It's good to see you!" exclaimed Manfredi as she glanced around the adoring crowd. Before playing 'I Know A Girl', she couldn't help but make a subtle jab at ex-boyfriends, but declared the song was about best friends, including one who couldn't be there.
'Rock And Roll Rave', written as a reaction to the Sydney lock-out laws of the mid-'10s, called out venues that no longer exist and again made us all feel old, but was played with such intention we were back there again, rebelling against the government rules and wishing we were at Brighton Up Bar again.
The Preatures - image © Charlie Hardy
After playing 'Ordinary', Isabella looked spent after a quick-paced half an hour. "I need to do a tour and get back into shape!" she teased before asking, "will you be with us if we tour?". The crowd reacted enthusiastically at the proposition, which felt like confirmation of what might be to come in 2025.
'It Gets Better' with its refrain of "...and it's better than it ever could be," felt cathartic as we screamed it back at them and reinforced just how great their catalogue is. Manfredi reminded us afterwards that their decision to break up was never because of the music, seemingly teasing that new music was not out of the picture.
Before performing 'Yanada' from their second album 'Girlhood', Isabella highlighted how important the song was to them and that, at the time, they were not able to donate royalties to an organisation, but announced they now can (thanks to Electric Fields) and would be donating 50 per cent of royalties of the track to the AIATSIS Foundation.
"We should be hearing Indigenous lyrics on the radio," declared Manfredi who also called out triple j who would "probably shuffle them to Double J. They like Drake though!" she cheekily implied.
The Preatures - image © Charlie Hardy
The main set finished with the song that broke them all those years ago, 'Is This How You Feel?', and the crowd bellowed for one more as they tore up the stage. Despite the printed set list not including it, they came back for one last hurrah, the title track from their second album, 'Girlhood'.
It was a triumphant return for the group, who despite indifferent reports over the years, appeared to be enjoying each other's company immensely with a dynamic that spoke of mended bridges and combined ambitions.
This really did feel like the start of something new, and potentially a new era of The Preatures.
- written by Mick Radojkovic
