LIVE REVIEW: FUTURE HAUNTS W/ AM RERUNS & POLARIZE @ THE GRACE DARLING 28/02/2020
FOR FANS OF: The War On Drugs, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Sweater Curse, TOWNS, The Jensens, Good Boy
On a gorgeous summery Melbourne night, I head out to the Grace Darling hotel after a 3.5 hour delayed trip from Bendigo (shout out VLine) and a hectic last-minute work rescheduling, to see Brisbane boys Future Haunts. If you’ve been following us and keeping an eye on our ‘Current Top 3’, you’ll know this Indie Rock 4-piece are an absolute favourite of mine right now.
Due to my delayed transport I was unfortunately late to the party, only making it in time for opening act (and friends of mine) Polarize’s last 3.5 songs. However, that’s plenty enough to confirm what I already knew of them - absolutely solid. Just back from their tour of Japan, Polarize are a local Melbourne-based band made up of Rudie Dodd, Sandy Moore, James Young, Brett Middleton, and Reg Auldist-King. On a base level (and on their triple j unearthed profile), these boys are are described as indie pop/rock, but they also do well in fusing this into the synthy 70’s, with mullets, cheetah print guitar straps, and of course the ever-swelling synthesiser/organ keys and vocoding - all so fitting when staged right under the Grace Darling’s upstairs disco ball.
POLARIZE
I was able to catch ‘Big Old Kid, new song '“Eugene’s Corlene” (so new it was apparently literally written a week before this gig), and “Do What You Want’ ~ one of my faves purely for the vocoded radio-distorted vocals sections, and it’s clear these boys have really practiced their craft, creating a unique, funky, indie-poppy-rocky concept that has gained a lot of love on triple j unearthed.
It was fantastic to see the sound was well levelled, nothing overpowering or drowned out, even with a drum kit, in such a small upstairs room.
Unfortunately I somehow got caught up in making new friends downstairs and missed AM Reruns, but if they’re anything like their fellow lineup acts and their online tracks then you can be sure they’re just as enigmatic. I’ll be making absolutely certain to catch them next time I can - take this as a rain check, boys!
AM RERUNS
On to the main act, Future Haunts. These boys made it all the way from Brisbane for their first ever Melbourne show as part of their Rushmore EP Tour. Honestly, I was initially disappointed - not in the band, no no, in the turn out! I don’t know if it’s just me and my recent obsession with the band’s music or what, but I was expecting more of a crowd - I really think they deserve it! The set starts with about 10 people in the room and as they play through Fall In Line (my absolute favourite) and the dramatic ending to Golden leading into new song ‘Accelerator’, the room slightly fills out a tad more, 20 people now slightly bopping and swaying to the tunes.
“A slower one called ‘Make Time’” follows, another personal favourite of mine. Acts like this always seem to draw me in with their layers of seductive guitar riffs and Future Haunts are no different. As soon as they popped up in my Spotify Radar, I was immediately obsessed, and their live performance is just as lush.
Watching each of the boys as the act goes on, lead singer Ben Speight is seen getting more and more into it towards the second half of Make Time, preceding (yet another personal favourite) Weather Vane, and Jesus Tote Bag following.
I feel my knees crack as I sway side to side during Jesus Tote Bag from the new EP ‘Rushmore’ , as the tune launches with a solid instrumental intro and outro, again confirming the unique sound I’ve come to love them for. Speight’s subtle yet fascinating moves on stage make me aware of how still the room has been, and I find myself really wanting to jump and dance, but the crowd doesn’t seem fit for it at this point.
Guitarist Tom Lindeman pauses between songs to announce that they’ve ‘got two more’ left for the night, prompting a ‘make it three!’ from a grinning crowd member.
‘That’s the first time anyone’s ever said that thank you so much’.
FUTURE HAUNTS
During Far Away I finally see some movement in the crowd, noticing a pair of girls up the back having a dance, giving it a real boogie as the set begins to come to a close. Far Away holds yet another incredible high guitar section, rounding out the tail end before their final song for the night.
Prior to playing the final track for the night - Slow Evolve (?) Speight takes his last opportunity to remind the crowd of the new EP and merchandise available, pleading
‘Please buy the vinyl, it’s blue! It’s great’.
The final song for the night, is (I think???) Slow Evolve, with a slightly heavier, more grungey feel compared to the rest of the night’s setlist. After the heavy instrumental ending, a call from the crowd is made, imploring the band to play ‘one more song’, -specifically Devon Loch - unfortunately, to no avail. I found out later through conversation with bassist Dan Sergiacomi, that they haven’t played the song in a couple of years and aren’t huge on the song itself, which is unfortunate seeing as there are clearly fans in the audience (including myself) who’d love to see it played live.
Minus a few small sound/technical moments, their set was fantastic, well practiced and put together, as was the rest of the night.
Chatting to Sergiacomi afterwards, we also discussed when they plan on returning to Melbourne/the rest of Australia, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to hear an official confirmation for ‘sometime in the second half of the year’.