Live Review: Homeshake at The Curtin
As the schmoozy Montreal outfit swung through Melbourne to play a pair of shows, Chloe Mayne headed along to the latter to soak up the vibrations:
The balmy evenings just continue to stretch onward this summer, and Monday was no different; flying down Lygon Street on my two-wheeled beast, The Curtin was a hive of street activity as I peeled off my helmet and snuck between double doors. It’s a cosy venue, some punters sprawled around booths in the dining area while others gravitate toward the fairy-lit DJ booth – no matter that it’s the first night of the week, the hubbub rumbles up and over to create that deliciously impenetrable holiday bubble. A lick of ink on the wrist and I’m ascending winding stairs, emerging into the bandroom, tucked up top like a cosy sonic pocket. It’s already bustling up here, bodies nestling semi-circle around the stage and leaning against the walls cradling pint glasses.
After a wild opening set from Kirkis, now in solo mode, SMILE took to the stage with a gentle and unassuming manner that grew and filled out as the set kicked in. They were impressive; just-kicked rhythms punctuated with wide-mouthed howls that stretched perpetual like lung tunnels. Feet shuffled closer and closer to the stage throughout, the audience reeled in with grinning magnetism. It was a delicious teetering of brashness and tight dynamic that was a ball to watch.
After a fleeting hiatus, during which we flowed like lemonade back out into the street for a breath of evening air, Homeshake took the stage to a roar of appreciative hoots and hollers. Peter Sagar is, as you perhaps already know, celebrated as one of Mac deMarco’s past live guitarists. It’s no surprise that he snuggled in with Mac’s sonic aesthetic so well; those warm and slightly fuzz-licked meandering guitar tones were unmistakeable. The evening sauntered onward at a loose and ebbing pace, the room growing warmer and shoulders shuffling in together, chatter giving way to the slow closing of eyes as a receptive audience shimmied in sync. Traversing the halls of their discography from The Homeshake Tape to In The Shower, everything was smooth and grinning and sunny. From the back of the room, a sea of baseball caps bobbed and nodded like buoys, rising to fervour by the time the set wrapped up and they trickled out into the orange light of night, cheeks flushed and eyes aglow.
Keep in the loop with Homeshake via their bandcamp page.
Words by Chloe Mayne.
