Hockey Dad @ Badlands Bar
w/ Dear Seattle, BOAT SHOW
Thursday, March 1, 2018
What’s the best way to start a month? Going to a gig of course. Hockey Dad packed out Badlands last Thursday, March 1 for the first of their two sold out shows, with some pretty decent supports on board.
Local favourites BOAT SHOW were first to hit the stage playing songs off their latest release Unbelievable and their debut Groundbreaking Masterpiece. Although singer Ali Flintoff was sick, she still managed to deliver on her usual hyperactive stage presence, running through the crowd and rolling across the stage.
Dear Seattle were next to hit the stage, and they were the band that one die hard was waiting for. Brandishing a Dear Seattle tee, he had the time of his life head banging along at the front, and the band got everyone else head banging too, especially during their track Quiet. They played a new song, titled Maybe, and threw in cover of Puddle of Mudd’s She Fucking Hates Me, which they had apparently only just learned, although this didn’t show. They closed their set with favourites Afterthought and The Meadows, and really got the crowd nice and warmed up for all the fun that was about to be had.
It was hard to be prepared for what happened when Hockey Dad hit the stage. The crowd suddenly turned into some kind of raging beast, moshing and crowd surfing from the very first second of My Stride. One guy managed to jump up onto the stage, take off his shoe and do a shoey before jumping back into the mess of the crowd, being cheered on like a legend.
The crowd stayed wild and extremely supportive despite some pedal failures during Disappoint Me, which unfortunately continued to plague the set throughout the night. The band though, were determined to continue.
When the two-piece plummeted into A Night Out With, the crowd somehow got even wilder, and a huge singalong echoed around the venue. From there the band played recent singles I Wanna Be Everybody and Join The Club from their new album Blend Inn. Seemingly surprised at how eager the crowd was to sing back all the words, Billy stated “Wow we only released Join The Club like two weeks ago and you guys already know all the words?!”
The band continued the run of songs from their new album with Danny before taking it back to their debut with I Need A Woman, which perhaps got the biggest reaction of the night.
The band then changed things up a little, and Billy took over on vocals for Sweet Release, which the crowd also lapped up.
The band played on their hits for the final two tracks of the main set, playing So Tired, and Homely Feeling, which was the highlight of the set.
Punters barely let the band leave the stage before they started shouting for an encore, and Hockey Dad kindly obliged, providing a cover of The Vines’ Get Free and their own Seaweed.
I’m surprised I didn’t see anyone walking out with blood on their face. Hockey Dad were tight, and had smiles on their faces the entire show, but I doubt they were expecting a reaction as huge as the one they received.
Overall it was one of the rowdiest shows I’ve ever seen, but also one where every single person had a huge smile on their face.
KIERRA POLLOCK
