Hands Like Houses - Gig Review 31st October @ Seabreeze Hotel, Mackay QLD
Hands Like Houses
Seabreeze Hotel, Mackay QLD
October 31st, 2019
Supports: Young Lions and Subservia
When your cross-country road trip just so happens to coincide with a band's regional tour circuit, why would you not go? To celebrate their single 'Through Glass', Hands Like Houses launched a regional run up and down the east coast this month, and my road trip from the north just happened to cross with their routing in Mackay, Queensland on Halloween.
I entered the Seabreeze Hotel just as opening support Subservia was finishing up their set, so I didn't get much of a chance to catch them, however I was stoked to see that by that point there was already a pretty decent turnout. A decent turn out that obviously didn't seem to care too much that it was Halloween as everyone was dressed like it was your standard Thursday night out at the local pub.
Brisbane punk rockers Young Lions were the main support for this tour and, as I'd never seen these guys before, I was super keen to finally see what they brought to the show. Frontman Zach Britt kept the crowd engaged throughout the set by jumping off the stage and using the floor as an added performance space. The band played through their current catalogue, including HELP, as well as their latest release 'Golden' which sounded so good live, and I'm keen to see more new releases from Young Lions now!
It's been a while since I've seen Hands Like Houses live, so I was super stoked to see how much further they've gotten since my last HLH gig overseas a few years back. As the last notes of John Farnham's 'You're The Voice' played out (yep, we got all of the cheesy pub rock tunes in between the bands throughout the evening), the lights dimmed in anticipation. Canberra's Hands Like Houses took to the stage and ripped through their catalogue of hard-hitting rock. Frontman Trenton Woodley gave the crowd a distinct reminder it was Halloween and played their tracks 'Monster' and 'Black' to go with the theme. There's something about regional crowds that bring a special kind of energy to live shows, and Mackay was no different. My favourite HLH song 'No Parallels' struck a fine, fun chord in the crowd, while 'Drift', 'Sick' and the tour's leading song 'Through Glass' had the entire room going off. Being a regional tour, the band admitted they weren't quite sure what kinda vibe this tour would have. However, they dug the vibe of North Queensland so much they threw in their smash hit cover of Natalie Imbruglia's 'Torn' as an added bonus before sending it off with 'Introduced Species'.
Having spent the last year in the Top End, regional crowds present a special kinda energy to live shows, something that is all too different in the major cities. So while Hands Like Houses have just been announced to play the 2020 edition of Download Festival next year, definitely go see them in a festival atmosphere because their live sets are fucking awesome. But also why not grab some mates and the car and head out on a road trip to your nearest regional spot to see The Amity Affliction and Northlane on their upcoming regional tours this summer? Also, the Hands Like Houses 'Through Glass' tour is heading south this week and west right through til November 14th and I hear there's plenty of tickets left for those shows!
Gig Review by Tamara May @citylightsTAM
Hands Like Houses - Through Glass Tour
