Pre-word: Personally, when it comes to attending live gigs I often need to be in the right headspace to properly enjoy myself at a show – this has nothing to do with the act I’m going to see or anything like that. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like being at a show. I’m sure I’m not the only one. However, this being one of those nights, I can say I 100% still respect, appreciate, and enjoy these shows. I wouldn’t put my hand up for a show if I didn’t want to be there, if I didn’t want to enjoy myself and the music being presented to me. Last night was one of those nights where I just wasn’t feeling myself, I wasn’t feeling up to going out and being in a loud room with sweaty people who’ve had a little too much to drink – once again, I mean in no way that I don’t appreciate the opportunity, but this is exactly what got me thinking. I began to think about just how privileged I am to be able to go to a show, for a band I love, for free, to critique and criticize, to enjoy, to share my thoughts about – and yet I can still feel like don’t want to be there. I feel like I need to make a point of just how grateful I come to be in moments like these, especially with bands like these, who work hard, make amazing music, and care about their audiences. You’ll see what I mean…
The Hard Aches are ‘an Australian melodic folky punk/alternative rock band from Adelaide, South Australia’ consisting of vocalist/guitarist Ben Clennett (aka Ben David) and drummer Alex Upton. Their most recent record Mess has brought about the same raw, sometimes harsh emotional words that The Hard Aches (perhaps, surprisingly) are known for. With songs like We All Do and Warm Blooded, The Hard Aches write for those who know that the world can be hard sometimes, but if there’s enough passion, even in the mundane, it can be worth it, all while giving a sound to help you forget about all that and just have fun. Their live performance made this clear.
The Hard Aches were also accompanied by support acts Typical, Face Face, and finally, BUGS; ‘a trio of boyish Brisbane blokes making infectiously happy Noise / Pop’, hatched by Connor Brooker (guitar, vocals) with Brock Weston (drums) and Jordan Brunoli (bass). ‘’Bugs’ continue to go from strength to strength by winning over new fans everywhere they play with their loveable brand of bashful, high energy garage guitar pop.’
Bugs presented exactly that. Having somewhat developed under the umbrella of the distinguished Aussie surfer-rock genre, the crowd was pumped and I walked in to a room with an amazing energy, ready to sweat it out and have some serious fun – bassist Brunoli already shirtless by the 10 minute mark. Bugs had some awesome crowd interaction, obviously knowing just how to work the stage and their sound to their advantage. This would have to be one of my favourite genres to come out of Australian music – somehow able to create such a chilled out yet pumped up atmosphere at the same time, while also having the ability to talk about a seriously wide range of topics within the lyrics. Maybe 5 years ago I never would have thought that loud, stereotypical Australian accented alternative rock, would be one of my faves. Bugs performed with clear vocals, well levelled sound, and a cheeky banter to match.
The three-piece act moved seamlessly through their set but took a moment to acknowledge the recent loss of a close friend, dedicating their newer release, ‘Time’, to their late friend’s memory, before kicking it up and keeping the party going with groove tune ‘Instant Coffee’. Bugs evidently already have a loyal following, with the crowd singing along and clapping without prompt, and keeping up the buzz the whole way through. I feel I need to also make point of the older lady who was obviously very happy to be there, drinking, dancing, and proudly singing along, as what I can only assume is a proud mother or grandmother of the band – lady, whoever you are, you’re great.
Bugs finished their set with ‘Neighbourhood’, a very cheeky commentary on a rather dodgy local, well, neighbourhood – seriously give it a listen and look up the lyrics…it’s kind of hilariously amazing. The boys have definitely gained a new fan.
The room was abuzz waiting for headliner The Hard Aches to come on stage, and filled with cheer as soon as they walked out right on time. The Hard Aches opened with ‘I Feel Like I’m Dying’, an interesting introduction to the night but actually ended up being rather relevant, as Ben mentioned some way through the set; ‘I haven’t been able to speak the last six days, I’ve had a crazy throat infection’, making the quality of his vocal performance for the night just that much more appreciated.
The crowd were already up on shoulders by the second song ‘I’m Sick Of Hearing About You’, singing back and making all the right kinds of noise – as was the band. Next was ‘Get Outta My House’ which seemed to really bring out the energy in the audience, now with hands in the air, jumping around, clapping and dancing, like a wholesome, safe and soft mosh pit. Within the crowd I also noticed that there were quite a few couples attending together, as well as a group of three guys in arms, obviously good friends having a good time, which I really thought was lovely to see at a show like this. Having seen The Hard Aches play before in my own hometown Bendigo, it’s hard to believe they’ve gotten better. Their latest releases have gone to show just how much you can achieve with a voice, a guitar, and a good beat/set of drums.
Between ‘Glad That You’re Gone’ and ‘Brain Drain’ Ben took a moment to note an important rule for the night;
‘If one person crowd surfs we don’t play ‘Get Like This’ and we hate that song so don’t test it. Have fun, just not too much fun…’ and explained this later in the night, pausing ‘Gut Full’ to enforce this on an actual crowd-surfer at the time and consequentially gaining the attention of security. It seemed that The Hard Aches had organized for security to not be needed at front of stage because they had planned on ensuring that the crowd weren’t acting in such a way that security would be needed. Fortunately, the audience listened and had just enough fun to not cause issue after these warnings;
‘I mean it…Hey, put him down, would ya? I’ll tell you why I’m such an asshole about crowd surfing, everyone’s meant to feel like they’re allowed to be here, it makes us really fucking stressed and anxious up on stage and it just ruins the fun for everyone.’
Outside of these few serious moments within the hour long set, the call and response between stage and audience was on fire, with the crowd singing back entire verses and choruses in acapella without any prompting. Rolling through ‘Brain Drain’, ‘Knots’, and the new album’s title track ‘Mess’, the band held up a great energy creating a lights-out anticipation for the mid-set song.
I began to notice the smell of cigarettes and beer filling the air as ‘St Helens’ began to play, moving into ‘Warm Blooded’ with the crowd clapping along in time to the somewhat melancholy tune. We came from sad and slow back to upbeat and rockin’ out again with ‘You’re An Alarm Clock’. I think my favourite song for the night would have to be ‘Wild And Wired’ or ‘Organs And Airports’ which were next to play, respectively. The next tune to bring back the sad and serious vibe, while still keeping the room awake and alive was Hard Aches classic ‘We All Do’. I find that The Hard Aches consistently create songs that are not just there to have a good jam to, but also make you really think about the people in the world around you. The Hard Aches are one of the few Australian alt-rock (etc) bands that tend to make me simultaneously miserably melancholy and incredibly in love with everyone around me. Being surrounded by new and old music so constantly, I sometimes forget how much I love coming back to stuff like this.
The final few songs of the set were ‘Gut Full’, ‘Grinding My Teeth’, ‘Happy’ which was played with guest guitarist and vocalist Lauren from support act Face Face, and of course the widely loved ‘Get Like This’, which was also rounded out with the main section from ‘Family’, which also seemed to be the main theme for the night. Behind Ben on stage was a large banner with the lyrics ‘This is our home, this is our family’. Just on its own, the song again brings a feeling of community and belonging and love within the room. It’s hard to describe but The Hard Aches seem to bring out a lot of varied, raw, intense emotion that I don’t often find in the current music scene. These last two songs brought out the most energy and emotion from the crowd. ‘Get Like This’, although the band themselves may not be a fan, is clearly such a major tune amongst the fanbase. The crowd was dancing, not just jumping around but dancing. Alone, with each other, with strangers, it was just such a beautiful thing to observe. As for ‘Family’, the crowd definitely mellowed down but it was clear that they were just as appreciative and loving towards themselves and one another. This repetitive, short song still brings deep attention to exactly what it is talking about. It is so literal in such a perfect way.
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