Review: The Pretty Littles Live
The Pretty Littles – Helluva Tuesdi Tour – Howler – 4th March 2017
It wasn’t a Tuesday but it was a helluva good night for the Melbourne leg of The Pretty Littles ‘Helluva Tuesdi’ tour. Alas it was a Saturday night, not that it really matters considering the four piece are one of the most exciting things to come out of Melbourne in the last year. But after extensively touring their third album Soft Rock For The Anxious, the boys decided it was time to put the album to rest with one last big party at The Howler with a little help from Horace Bones, Press Club and Go Get Mum.
A sold out show at The Howler is no easy feat, so eager to celebrate each band made sure to impress. From the slacker vibes of Go Get Mum through to the rowdy garage tunes of Horace Bones, a prime selection of Melbourne’s rising talent was well and truly on display.
With the crowd more than warmed up, The Pretty Littles hit the stage. It was clear that the massive hometown crowd meant a lot to the band, as they stepped on stage with grins plastered across their faces. The love was reciprocated soon after as the band smashed out all the hits from their latest album, as excited audience members quickly proceeded to surf the crowd. It’s little surprise that lead single ‘Pride’ was a fan favourite, as the boys belted through the sing-along friendly tune, but it was songs like ‘Shit Head’ and ‘Tallman’ that also made good contenders for favourite of the night. ‘Tallman’ is possibly the most stripped back and not to mention haunting song off Soft Rock For The Anxious, which made its live rendition a thing to behold, as Jack’s desperate wail filled the room with an eerie excitement.
It hardly needs to be mentioned, but of course ‘Helluva Tuesdi’ went off. Loud and proud, the boys ripped through the gritty garage gem (cringe alliteration is definitely appropriate) reminding the crowd that they came to have a good time, and that’s most certainly what they got. Much to everyone’s disappointment the boys left the stage after what seemed like a relatively short set. The crowd still not quite satisfied, quickly started the chant for an encore and weren’t disappointed when the band returned to play ‘Dingo the Ladies Man’ from their 2013 album Mash.
While it’s sad that these will be the last string of shows the band play for a while, we can only hope that the boys will be back soon with some new material or even another album for us to wrap our ears around. Though until then, we’ll just keep playing this one on repeat.
By Ryan Durrington
Pictures by Matilda Elgood
