Thunder From Down Under

On Saturday evening, after the free outdoor concert hosted by The Garrison Bar, I headed inside to check out the line-up tonight. To my surprise, the support act had already started their set. The Beaches are named after a well-to-do neighbourhood in the east end. But belying their sleepy origins, the all-girl band played a loud and excitable punk-pop. Constantly in motion and hopping around, they were engaging but couldn't quite get the reserved crowd to join in, except for 1 dude in the front.

From Australia, The Preatures have been building a fanbase and winning awards with their 80s-inspired songs Is This How You Feel and Better Than It Ever Could Be. Live, they had a louder, more rock edge to their music. It was a mixed result: it did light a fire under some of the songs and yet they didn't particular stand out as a "rock" band. Luckily, lead singer Isabella Manfredi was just as magnetic in person as in the videos. Dressed in white jeans and a Pretenders tee, she strutted, danced, and hopped maniacally around the stage. Her signature was to stare intently into the crowd. But accompanied by an ever-present grin, it was more of a playful dare to get into the music. And a good portion of the audience did, dancing and clapping along.