Self-proclaimed “Beach Goths” The Growlers came to Perth as part of their 2017 Australian national tour.  It had been almost three years since The Growlers performed in Perth (The Bakery, January 2015), an absence felt by their rapidly growing fan-base.  

At an earlier then expected start time of 7.30pm on a Friday night, a small crowd was treated to Dream Rimmy. The shoegaze outfit was short of three members but still provided a peach of a performance guided by some immaculate vocals by Ali Flintoff. A short but sweet performance invited The Growlers to take off for an enjoyable two hour set.

After playing a hat trick of shows in Sydney, The Growlers withstood exhaustion and burst onto stage with energetic hits from their most recent album City Club.  I’ll Be Around lifted spirits early, as an ever-growing modest mosh pit started to groove.

Unfortunately for the eager crowd pinned to the fence, Brooks Nielsen wasn’t too cooperative with Snapchat stories as he faced down many Iphones whilst serenading an enthusiastic crowd. Another downer for the nosebleed section was the overly loud and sharp sound being too loud and blasting from the speakers – likely in preparation for the weekend warriors.  Despite the success of their recent sound they still played classics from earlier albums, which was blended in surprisingly well considering the shift in style. Songs were blended nicely with the occasional breather and acknowledgement of the audience. Hearing songs from Hot tropics  (Sea Lion Goth Blues) as well as Hung at Heart (Someday) was well received from a mosh who did their homework.

Chinese Fountain saw an out of context stage rush which was enjoyed briefly before Security and the band got fed up.

A well-deserved encore was capped off with crowd favourite Going Gets Tough which swooned the crowd with a impressionable performance.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable night, which had you day dreaming about better times rather than a sticky night in the 90s room at Capitol upstairs. Variables outside of the band’s control made aspects of the night less enjoyable.