LIVE REVIEW: TOWNS + THE DEBBIES WITH HALLIE @ THE WORKERS CLUB 13/5/22
Written by Laney Morgan
It was the battle of the decades in the Workers band room on the night of Friday the 13th. Jervis Bay charmers Debbies fused their Skeggs-reminiscent-surf-punk with looking like they’d just strolled off the set of Puberty Blues, whilst front-woman Hallie appeared like a late 90s fever dream sporting Gwen Stefani No Doubt era vibes, and finally, the cheeky Adelaide duo TOWNS stayed true to blink-182 influences in baggy trousers and flannies and performed a phenomenal cover of Smashmouth’s ‘Allstar’.
Debbies duo Noah and Alex, and their mate Tom filling in on guitar, were very happy to be back in Melbourne. They opened with ‘Waking up in LA’, very Jet-Get-Born era, a mix of powerful drumming, hairography, slashing guitars and radiant smiles. They then transitioned to ‘Mol’ - a new track - and begged the audience to ‘tell us if you hate it.’ I didn’t catch a whiff of hatred in the air.
After ‘All I Need,’ which prompted a sing-along chorus, the boys once again expressed gratitude for everyone’s presence in the stuffy band room; ’you get better each time in Melbourne!’ Noah assured us. They breezed through ‘Sinner’ and moved onto ‘Radio’ which generated major thrashing at the front. They were a united front when playing ‘Comfort Zone’ - fun, upbeat, and poppy. As they launched into ‘Money’ and ‘Hot Head’, the band room started to fill, which further fuelled their excitement. They closed with crowd favourites ‘What Do I Know,’ and then ‘Let You Know’. Debbies are as excited as you are that live music is back and it was a joy to see them having such fun.
Dreamboat Hallie looked like the lead singer from Pink Slip in Lindsay Lohan’s cult classic film Freaky Friday, and boy was she pulling it off. She was surrounded by her pals on lead guitar, bass and drums. They achieved a dreamy, slow and steady opening with ‘Handcuffs’. The perfect adjective to describe Hallie’s voice is soaring; she effortlessly climbs to high notes. Her punky get-up and vocals also produced a similar vibe to Miss Olivia Rodrigo. Her second song ‘Cut it Off’ was a favourite of mine - very raw and lurid lyrics describing the perilous journey of falling for a friend.
‘Sympathy’ saw the front-woman invite us to all creep a little closer. In ‘Love’ Hallie abandoned her guitar and started grooving with utter enjoyment. Hallie knows her performance cues so well, knowing exactly when to groove and hold a direct gaze with the crowd; it was beautifully choreographed. She described ‘Lip Balm’ as being about an obsession that I didn’t quite catch, however this upbeat track reminded me of 90s alternative rock band Letters to Cleo. Everyone was transfixed by Hallie’s stage presence in ‘Shift the Focus’, and ‘Fairy Bread’. This latter track dealt with immense hurt and pain yet Hallie sang with such gusto.
She prefaced her second last song ‘Do It,’ by encouraging all of us to tell our crush we liked them. They closed with ‘Babysitter’, which Hallie said was about the glee derived from dating someone emotionally mature who you don’t have to babysit. This was my first time seeing Hallie and it won’t be my last.
TOWNS took the stage at the eleventh hour and whilst only a party of two, they made up for it with passion. Best friends Aston and Daniel opened with ’98’ and thanked everyone for their attendance, humbly admitting they didn’t think anyone would show up. They introduced ‘Swimming’ with a very open chat about anxiety. Their chatter between songs was honestly my favourite part of the gig. It was like we were privy to a rambling conversation between best friends. They also could have been reenacting a Sammy J and Randy musical comedy skit.
As they moved on to ‘Stardust’, you could feel the musicianship between Aston and Daniel emanating off the stage. The crowd chanted the lyric ‘there’s 100 other things taking up my mind’ passionately. The track also had a slight melancholic melody - very ‘Ceremony’ by New Order. ‘Boring’ demonstrated Aston’s powerful vocals and also his tendency to thrash with agility and speed across the stage.
Aston introduced the softer track Bleach’ as a ‘depressing but important song’ and Dan requested mood lighting. It was definitely moody, the lyrics had a tone of sadness and frustration. The band room appeared like a surreal avant-garde film shot during this song. The dimmed lights, raised arms and blue light illuminating Dan’s face whilst he sang powerfully paired well with vape clouds gathering like thought bubbles over people’s heads.
The boys then played a new song, ’Seasons’, set to be released in mid-May. And although Dan confirmed that we weren’t going to know the words, he urged us to jump. And jump we did. Good pal Seb was then pulled onto the stage as a guest performer for a very Rage Against the Machine song written by the trio years ago.
Their cover of ‘All-Star’ went down like a treat. All of the Gen Z’s, and really anyone who appreciates both fine music and Dreamworks’ best contribution to the film industry, lapped it up. Dan managed to chuck in a cheeky ‘don’t vote liberal’ plea between Smashmouth’s lyrics. The boys from Debbies also chose this moment to get on each other’s shoulders.
The pair’s Triple J unearthed entry ‘I Don’t Mind’ was a great second last track due to their passion and lucid lyrics which resulted in mad audience participation. ‘Safe to Say’ was a poppy conclusion to the night. Aston and Dan again showed deep gratitude for everyone’s attendance - ‘I know we’ve said it twenty times, but fucking thank you.’
Live music is back and better than ever. I don’t know how we survived without it for so long.