Live Review: Grace Woodroofe, Lucy Peach, Man The Clouds

Not even the most disgusting conditions we've seen all winter could prevent a horde of loyal punters making their way to The Bird for a night of blues-infused rock performed by an entirely local billing. First up was Man The Clouds, who eased the crowd into the evening with chill tunes and cool vibes. Dave Taylor was fantastic on the drums, keeping the crowd enthused with the sheer amount of energy put into his performance, while Tayo Snowball's infectious grin and bluesy vocals were a welcome treat for those of us who were down there early.

Lucy Peach took to the stage a short time later for an extremely raw and personalised performance. Beginning with a couple of happy songs, she humbly 'fessed up to writing The Day The Night Lasted Forever on the toilet, commanding the attention of all in the venue. The superbly edgy twang in her vocal delivery gave the songs that followed a sense of melancholic isolation, stretching across a variety of themes, including her ancestor who travelled to Australia from London as a thief. She was joined by a friend for her final song – a cover of Drunk On Election Night as a tribute to Tony Abbott because “he's a douche” – complete with harmonies of “cocksucker” and “motherfucker”, much to the delight of the seemingly Labor-supporting audience.

By the time Grace Woodroofe took to the stage, The Bird's stage-viewing platform was splitting at the seams. Supported by a complete back-up band and feeling fresh off the back of a supreme Rottofest performance, Woodroofe shone in front of the adoring crowd and belted out a string of new songs. Engrossing an impressive mix of the young and old in audience members, the quality of this artist was obvious as early tracks, including Transformer, excelled. Interestingly, she seemed shy and giggly between tunes, but she would become an entirely different character when launching into a song, developing a commanding influence, yet remaining incredibly womanly at the same time. Her highlights (there were heaps) came through tunes such as Perennial Actress, where the rugged and edgy power of her voice stood out and was accompanied by some gnarly onstage movement, whipping her hair about wildly while treating her guitar in a similar fashion. Her accompanying band members were equally brilliant, displaying some awesome musicality as the night went on. Woodroofe took full advantage of the packed-out room and it kept the good vibes pulsating throughout the venue all evening, despite the dreariness of the outside world. All in all, the night was a wonderful success and all those who braved the weather would certainly be thankful that they did.