Alpine [Gig Review]

The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 24
Supports: Olympia, DARTS
It’s always a pleasant surprise when you head to a gig, not fully knowing the supports, and then leaving said gig with a new favourite musician. If you haven’t heard of Olympia, I suggest you look her up, as her pristine and angelic vocals sound just the same live as they do in her recordings. Playing the first support slot is always tricky, as convincing what few crowd there is to come forward is something you’ll constantly be responsible for. It’s almost as if with the first band there’s a barrier that forces punters at least three metres from the stage. Though while no one was within touching distance of the singer, all eyes were squarely focused on her and her purple one-piece get up. Whether it was the outfit or her vocals, she was an unforgettable aspect of the night.
Second up was DARTS, and as much as I hate to give bad feedback to a band, tonight just simply wasn’t their night. The lead vocals were far too low and with her already soft voice it became lost as soon as the guitar and drums came into full effect. Some of the band members look disinterested, simply like they were gazing at the bar counting down the minutes until they could hold a chilled drink in their hands. That’s not to say they didn’t play well, from what I could hear (vocals excluded, unfortunately) their instrumentals were pretty true to their songs. It’s just a bit hard to get really into it when not all the band members look as if they want to be there.
Though stage presence wasn’t a problem at all when Alpine began. Squeezing all six of them onto the Barwon Club space looked like a well planned task, but it all worked and with enough space for Phoebe and Lou to writhe around on stage. Alternating between singing at the crowd, singing at each other and generally giving one hell of a theatrical performance – the band had the crowd eating out of their hands from the very first song. They seamlessly mixed in their older tracks with their newer songs, to which both had the whole crowd singing along. If it wasn’t only halfway through the year, I’d say Alpine easily are the top live act of the year for me. Though I better not get ahead of myself, there’s still another five months of fitting into packed out rooms and rubbing up against sweaty bodies before that title can be claimed.
Reviewed by Amanda Sherring