What better way to spend ANZAC eve then downing a few drinks while checking out local acts at The Espy in St Kilda. It’s a time to relax and enjoy beer and tunes, knowing you don’t have to be up early and working the next day.
Most of the venue was taken up by the Raise the Roof event featuring local hip hop artists. The Espy’s basement was where we were headed this night to see four local artists: Dom Cooley, Mike Elrington, The Twoks and The Reverant. What an awesome night of music and what hidden musical treasures we have in this city. The Espy never disappoints in terms of the music talent they book; they’re known for hosting some eclectic musicians and bands.
ANZAC eve at The Espy was an interesting one. Some of the hip hop ticket holders intermittently entered the basement (I think owing to the giant queue at the bar upstairs) looking slightly bewildered by the music the basement crowd was enjoying, and some made no secret of their confusion. I felt like looking after some of those poor lambs! I thought funny the fact that it was obvious who was there for what event – half the punters were walking about with the cap-under-hoodie combo and obligatory extra low crutch, the other half were hipsters who presumably just hopped off the 86, satchel bag and black thick framed glasses on person. I just love the diversity at these places! Love it.
The night started off with Dom Cooley, man and guitar producing some highly polished folk/acoustic and strong vocals. Have a listen to his tunes here: http://www.myspace.com/domcooley. Originally from Brisbane, Dom is now based in Melbourne, and as such has been claimed as one of us. I really enjoyed his set and it was a great opener to the night. The Twoks got everyone out of their seats; their sound is Vampire Weekend meets The Ting Tings, more on these guys later.
Mike Elrington, stand out of the night for me, will be featured on the next post of Strum A Note. This dude was absolutely amazing, his perfect rhythm and big booming blues voice singing original material was enough to make you watch his whole set with bated breath. I can’t wait to share his music with you.
The Espy has live indie acts on most nights of the week, so head down for a few and check out our homegrown talent.
