On Friday the 21st of April, I stepped foot into the reopened Lady Hampshire at Camperdown for the first time. While I waited for the bands to perform, I took in the fresh air from the outdoor dining area, which felt refreshing. Even though there were a couple of clouds present on the night, it wasn't enough to pour the slightest light showers out.
When the clock struck 8:12pm, Teddy Rizzo got on stage with a fierce stage presence. They never hold back a single note, nor hesitate to give a bit of movement and exercise during their set. Their consistent Db tuning provided a stamping mood and feel of the band, which made every song worth stamping your feet along to. They establish their songs with random tempo changes, groovy bass work, consistent guitar riffs and strong drumwork (which also included Joaquin flicking his hair up at random whenever he hits the crash cymbals with his drumsticks). Hence, Carla's vocal projection was strong, and whenever she approaches the edge of the stage, she gives you the feeling that she's singing at you energetically. Their set is very strong overall!
Next up was Dial Denial, who's known for touring with US Band Switchfoot at the iconic Manning Bar. They dial up strong vocal work, multiple riffs and drumwork across their consistently roaring performance. Thanks to their covers of "Mr Brightside" by The Killers and "California Gurls" by Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg (which singer Fergus told the audience that he managed to convince his bandmates to play), the audience were having a blast with relieving their partying mood and vibe.
After covering California Gurls, the bass would become silent. So, bassist Bailey decided to swap guitars with Fergus. From here, Fergus is able to jump at great heights, move around the stage and exert passionate energy for the eager audience to see. The last song of their set is the highlight for me to watch as Fergus told everyone to get down, and when prompted, jump up. It provided a feeling of audience engagement and anticipation for what they'll do next. Dial Denial grabbed my attention just by how much sheer energy and passion they give to the audience for their performance.
The headline act, Radicals, establishes themselves as the root of hard rock and post grunge in their music. Performing for about an hour with 15 songs, they pleased fans and audience across the entire room. The bassist had a lot of popularity among his fans who were not only standing opposite of him, but also interacting with him at times. His bass grooves compliment with the rhythm guitarist/singer, who maintained his chest voice and clear vocal articulation across every song. Thus, the lead guitarist would sometimes angle his guitar upwards, which is a gesture of aiming for the skies. Hence, the drummer maintains a balance with keeping a consistent tempo and beat for each cymbal, snare and tom.
The songs for their set varies, from the trippy vibe in "feel" thanks to the MV they released, to calling back the mid 2000s hard rock and post grunge in "eyes". They also covered Arctic Monkeys' classic "Do I Wanna Know", which got the audience belting out the iconic guitar riff and singing along with the band. Their stage presence is captivating such that you can't tell if they're in a band or not. However, once they got on stage, they made their stage presence known with passion and 100% effort across their entire performance. Now, with a successful set and performance under their belt, they will radically metabolise into one of Sydney's, if not, Australia's leading post grunge bands in the music scene within the near future.
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