New Young Pony Club @ Prince of Wales, Melbourne (05/08/08)
I have come to know that any band on the Modular record label is one that’s worth seeing. With outfits like The Presets and Cut Copy, the label is about gritty 80s sounding synths, danceable beats, and a groove you can’t help moving to. Seeing the New York Pony Club (NYPC), I certainly wasn’t left feeling disappointed.
Melbourne new wave indie kids Young Lovers kicked the night off, playing an amazing set. I absolutely loved them and so did the crowd. It’s not you get blown away by the support act, so it was a great way to start the night. The Young Lovers have the new romantic sound down pat, with strong vocals and a great beat to dance and sing along with. This band is defiantly going to get big in the not too distant future. Dancing away behind his synth and on vocals, Luke Carlson has charisma in bucketloads, and it only serves to enhance the band’s appeal. It was also refreshing to see with the boys (Luke, Jake, Bill and Scotty) adding a feminine touch to the band with energetic bassist Rachel Jakubenku.
NYPC opened with their 2006 hit ‘Get Lucky’ and the crowd let up a roaring cheer at singer Tahita Bulmer’s new look; short blonde hair. This blonde defiantly had more fun tonight, as with her new look hairdo came fresh new sound. The band played a few new tracks, and they were well received and sounded strong. Their energy also seemed to fuse with the crowd, and Tahita said quite a few times how great we were and how welcome they felt. This, of course, increased the cheers and screams from the crowd. I was nearly deafened by a few girls nearby who screamed loudly, almost like crazed teenagers. Soon NYPC played their hit ‘The Bomb’ at the end of the set, right before the encore, and the entire Prince seemed to know the lyrics.
Having seen NYPC earlier this year at the Forum, looking back I think maybe the bigger venue took away some of their energy. The gig at the Prince felt much tighter and more energised. It was much better being in a smaller venue. Defiantly a great night had by all!
