With an odd burst of warm weather over the weekend, Northbridge was buzzing nice and early on Saturday night with the maze of boutique bars around Jimmy’s Den thriving as we waited for doors open. After hearing an interview with the band, I was well and truly keen to see Sydney act Tigertown taking their Lonely Cities EP on tour. Missing out on the East Coast-only support acts, Perth wasn’t left wanting with local Angus Dawson providing some excellent hometown support. Living up to all the expectations and more, it was a great night of carefree dancing and indie pop anthems.
Angus Dawson took to the stage and gave an outstanding performance, proving once again why he’s been on my radar the last couple of years. Starting off with a heavy dose of pre-recorded production the set quickly dove into live vocals and instrumental blending all elements seamlessly. While the average sized crowd were sticking to the comfort of their bar stools, the cozy set up of Jimmy’s Den ensured none of the atmosphere generated by the bands performance was diminished.
Accompanied by Stella Donnelly on keys and backup vocals, it gave every track that extra dream like quality. The soft vocal harmonies, combined with the ethereal builds and the varied percussion, just made each track both melodic and stirring especially when “A Curse In Disguise” filled the room. I honestly could have enjoyed the set for the whole night, if you’re a fan of the indie electronic stylings coming from bands like Lilt or RÜFÜS, this is another act to be adding to your list.
The minute the lights were dimmed and the members of Tigertown took their places there was an instant migration of punters from the back of the room to the red glow of the stage, with a steady stream of ladies ensuring they were front and centre, and with good reason. As soon as the band kicked off with “Make It Real”, the floor broke out the dance moves, the synthy pop harmonies and inspiringly glittery outfit choices spread an excitable energy through the room contagiously infecting every limb.
Carrying straight into “Bullet From A Gun”, the whole room was reminiscent of one of those wistful American teen party scenes with everyone immersing fully into the bliss-over-bittersweet anthemic tunes. Leads Chris and Charlie Collins were completely feeding off these vibes giving as much as they got between guitar solos and powerful vocals, the group clearly showing their appreciation for the reception on their last night of the tour.
Talking about getting stuck into making their first album, it’s hard to believe they don’t already have one under their unicorn clad belts, especially as they broke out the lead hit off their latest EP, “Lonely Cities”, that had everyone bouncing up and down. Each band member appeared to be so in synch with the other culminating in such colourfully, well layered songs it reminded me immediately of the likes of Gypsy and The Cat.
Their set seemed to reach its end too soon, as the five piece ducked off stage before coming back for encore to cover “Pressure Down” by John Farnham and finishing with the folkier rhythmed “What You Came Here For”. Saying farewell to your new found dance buddy, the crowd dispersed to either head out into the still early night or chat with the musicians by the merch desk, those feel good catchy tracks still playing in our ears.
Winding up their Lonely Cities tour in Perth in a big way on Saturday night, it is easy to see why the family based crew have gained so much praise for their latest offerings. Although the night seemed to finish so early, the two acts gave more than memorable performances full of indie synth goodness, just daring you to dance your troubles away.
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