Melbournians rejoice! The beloved rock and roll bar, Ding Dong Lounge, is back after what seemed like a forever-long hiatus. To celebrate it’s re-opening, Stonefield along with two other incredibly loud, hard-hitting bands played a sold-out gig to some seriously happy punters.
The first act for the night was pop-infused, ambient rock band, Little Casino. Lead singer, Ben Forbes – swilling red wine on stage – had an acute ability to put his entire self out there for the crowd, to the point of vulnerability. This allowed for their already impressive music to become dramatic, genuine and believable. The crowd – half of which were sitting on the ground – swooned over it.
Ding Dong itself has improved its acoustics ten-fold. The original scratchy and messy sounds have been replaced with a much smoother and clearer musical ride. It is, however, unfinished in its décor, and the rooms themselves were too light – there is more to come from this visual end in the near future.
Royal Blood were up next and from the very second they stepped on stage they packed a massive chest-thumping punch. No one was expecting such explosive and loud sounds to come from a band made up of a drummer and a bloke playing a bass guitar as if it were a lead. Not a bad word was said about the act; in fact, the only disappointing thing for many was that there wasn’t an EP on sale after the gig.
When the girls of Stonefield walked onto the stage, the room’s energy – already alit with excitement and electricity – burst into flames. People were spewing out the doors in hope to see the band, and people were dancing from the very first track.
There was an addition to the quartet for the night, Emily Shaw taking over Amy Findlay’s position at the Drums, and Amy moving her vocals to the front of stage. The move worked in favour for the lasses – her shift to the fore allowed her powerful vocals to reach out further and it gave the band an even bigger presence. In fact, for the few songs mid-set where Amy resumed her place on the drums, her lack of presence was really felt.
The girls covered Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” with gut-wrenching skill, however, their second cover (and also last song for the night), Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”, was so powerfully executed the entire room was sent into a whirlwind of dancing and cheering.
What really made the Stonefield experience was the sister’s ability to rock out on stage as if they were part of the crowd – Bassist Holly Findlay’s hairflipping, and later, blood curdling screaming during “Through The Clover” were noteworthy; along with Hannah Findlay’s acidic style in both her dress and her musical abilities.
In all, a perfect re-opening for Ding Dong Lounge.
– Tara Emily
