On Saturday night I dragged my body, weary from the Bigsound bender I had just got off, down to the Woolly Mammoth to see the sold out show in support of Vera Blue’s new EP Fingertips, and boy am I glad I did. The venue was nicely packed – not as sardine like as the Triffid, but definitely cozy. Unfortunately for me, the $6 beer specials from Bigsound were over, but the vibe was still pumping.

First up for the night was brother/sister duo Lastlings, who did some hectic smooth, cool, electro pop. I had major synth envy over the synth they were using in their set – the sounds they were creating were seriously sick, and I was disappointed more people hadn’t arrived yet to witness the pure awesomeness of their music. They gave me some serious J-Pop style beats and melodies, which I’m totally into. Whilst I really dug their sound, I felt like some of their mixes were off. The female member of the band had a beautiful voice – soft and clear and just pretty, but was so hard to hear, and I don’t know whether that was their mix as a band, or the mix from the sound guy, or some unknown problem I don’t know. Other than that, I really enjoyed their sound and their performance and I’m looking forward to seeing their own headline set. 

The next performer of the night was indie Melbourne artist LANKS. Bearded, banded and armed with a red guitar, he looked 110% the part, and had the absolute bangers to match. He too was rocking out some sick electronic beats, but his sound was more ‘synth-pop/synth-rock’ than the previous act. The heavy synth sounds combined with the full band backing was a really awesome mix, and amplified his sound. The mix problems that I encountered with Lastlings seemed to have been fixed, as the vocal – music ratio was much better in LANKS set. Although their synth pop/rock was awesome, the absolute best part about LANKS set was by far the live sampling of flute that was almost in a beat boxing style was absolutely incredible, and as a flautist myself, I was incredibly impressed. 

By the time Vera Blue got to the stage the crowd were starting to get a little rowdy. The mosh pit closed in, people were moist from the rain and spilt beer, and everyone was antsy to see whom they came to see. Vera Blue entered the stage, with her signature long red hair and black garb. Immediately, she opened with Fingertips, which was an absolute crowd pleaser. The Woolly Mammoth went off for her incredible voice, which is inexplicably better in person than on tape. However, I was concerned she peaked too soon, as Fingertips was the title track to the EP, but how I was wrong. 

She then played a few album tracks and had some in between song banter, however I don’t think witty comebacks are particularly her style. About halfway through her set she pulled out her only cover for the night, Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz, which in theory sounds like a totally obscure song for Vera Blue to be covering, but for some reason works incredibly well. Another highlight of her set was an acoustic version of her song Red, which Vera played on her guitar. She finished off her set with a soul-clenching rendition of her main single Hold, which invoked an ecstatic response from the audience. 

After her encore, the Woolly Mammoth dissipated quickly, and all the punters fled. Vera Blue is an absolutely excellent performer, and her essence is captured so well on the stage. A truly magnificent display of musicianship and incredible songwriting. 

- Olivia Shoesmith