The Rubens at The Metro

Kate Holcombe multi-tasked at Sydney’s Metro Theatre the other night, working behind the bar while reviewing a show at the same time. Impressive:

The night began with an explosive opener from New Gods, whom we discovered is a newly formed group containing two former Little Red bandmates, Dom (singer) and Adrian (guitarist) along with Richard on bass, Sam on drums and the friendly Dale on keys, who visited the bar for a celebratory shot at the end of their performance. They blasted through a tight set with an ease that belied their young band-life, meaning only good things to come.

Bertie Blackman was up next, the feisty little independent who is tiny in stature but enormous in delivery, as she found some sort of fire from within to belt out some truly inspiring songs that had real grunt. You can tell she means business, with her latest album, Pope Innocent X, being no exception to her unique ability to capture an audience and hold it in the palm of her hand, as she did on this Friday evening.

Finally, The Rubens rounded out the night to a rapturous crowd who couldn’t seem to get enough of the ridiculously good-looking small-town lads who have climbed up the trendy ranks very quickly, producing a delightful self-titled surf pop album with instantly recognisable and catchy tunes that got everyone buzzing. They concluded the set with their enormously popular Lay It Down in a thunderously loud encore, cementing their status as new indie pop leaders.

Review by Kate Holcombe.