Hot Little Hands

Oh, the Northcote Social Club. How I love thee and thy cheap beer and aesthetically pleasing bartenders that serve as a fantastic distraction from the fact that the bandroom is almost empty, albeit for me, my friend and the seven other eager punters who made it in early enough to catch local band The Smoke.

This five-piece only formed last year and, for a relatively new group, they put on quite the show. Singer Dane Robertson has a commanding stage presence, with his uber-tight skinny jeans and sex on legs style dance moves, he seemed to be channelling the spirit of Michael Hutchence and doing a damn good job of it, too. Their 60’s-inspired take on punk rock is nothing new, and there is definitely no deep or artistic meanings in their songs, however, the sounds from their recently released record Blood Orange were well-executed live, and had two of the nine audience members up and dancing.

Their music is domewhat eclectic, ranging from flat-out indie rock to country tunes with tambourine and British accents. The Smoke’s dress sense also varied, with manager and lead guitarist Luke Cartwright looking like a cowboy, guest bassist Callum McBain in his best grunge attire, and the remaining band members decked out in their indie/hipster finest. Not that clothing is of the utmost importance when it comes to the music, but when establishing yourself as an up-and-coming band, image goes a long way, and with these guys, their sound and personal style is rather varied. Nonetheless, musically they’ve written a bunch of fun, catchy tunes, that were very enjoyable live. It’ll be interesting to see what these boys get up to as they continue to grow as a band and win the nation over with their energetic live performances.

Next up were New Zealanders The Tutts. They had me hooked from the minute they turned on their smoke machine and cranked up the synthesiser. They belted out some cracking post punk indie tunes that had the more intoxicated members of the now larger audience, jumping around with their rock n roll hearts on their sleeves. The Tutts are loud, sweaty danceable rock, with killer guitar riffs, tight playing and even tighter pants.

Vocalist Scott Allen worked the crowd, thrusting at his synthesiser and leaping off stage to join the revellers in the front row. It was a shame his voice was drowned out by the guitars (note to the sound desk - turn the mic up!), but the band’s performance more than made up for the quiet, mumbled singing. Here’s hoping that they come back to Melbourne soon.

The band room was packed as the lights went down and Melbourne’s own Hot Little Hands took to the stage. Their opening track started with massive bass and I fell in love instantly as the reverb ripped right through me. These lads have got their shit together and wowed the crowd, showcasing some new material with a bit of cowbell and tambourine action.

Their set was amazing and the songs from Dynamite in Black and White were better live than in the studio recordings. Its hard to define Hot Little Hands sound, the best I can come up with is a synthesiser laden version of early Architecture in Helsinki, with a sprinkling of blues and 80’s nostalgia.

Singer Timothy Harvey has a sexy, husky voice that had the females in the room swooning. The onstage interaction between Timothy and bassist Royce Akers was electric and certain members of the audience were air-guitaring along to some of their heavier rock tunes. Highlights of the set was the trumpet solo in their song about shoe shopping, a delightful cover of a Bowie song, whose title I can’t remember, bopping along to Dynamite in Black & White (the pleasant pop melodies and whistling are just too good) and Scott Allen from The Tutt’s jumping onstage for some tambourine loving for their final song of the night Scene of the Crime.

Hot Little Hands are fantastic live, I recommend catching their shows before they get too famous to personally sell you their merchandise after the show.

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