Live Review: Loon Lake, Horror My Friend, The Smile Hooks

The Adelaide Unibar was the scene for Loon Lake's final Adelaide show ever.

The Smile Hooks opened up quite soon after doors to a relatively small early crowd. Their brand of summer styled indie pop rock with catchy hooks provided the early listeners with a set of easygoing, danceable tunes with hints of new wave and a flash of guitar to keep the ears perked up and bodies grooving along.

A little tired, slightly hungover Horror My Friend took the main support on the night, having flown out of Sydney the same day after tearing up Oxford Art Factory with West Thebarton Brothel Party and Bad//Dreems less than 24 hours ago. Irrespective of their physical condition, the trio never fail to delight a crowd and with their debut album Stay In, Do Nothing right around the corner, the boys kept it tight mixing in soon-to-be-released tracks with many off their previous EP. Their self-branded 'quinoa kale rock' (think of punk or garage rock, but vegan) full of hard-hitting drum rhythms and sometimes chaotic riffs resonates well with the hometown crowd, the band having packed out numerous venues across Adelaide over the past four years.

With the venue filling up quickly between the final two bands, the crowd was buzzing by the time the Melbourne five-piece hit the stage. Seeing as it was their final Adelaide show, Loon Lake had the crowd eating out the palm of their hands with their hour-plus set. With bodies bouncing off one another, people losing their fucking minds with guys and gals dancing from stage to bar, it seemed crazy for Loon Lake to be calling it quits after a response like that to tracks such as Thirty Three and their recent single Just Now. With a set rounded out with a definitely rockier version of The XX's Angels, there's no doubt the Adelaide show will be etched in memory with the lads going out on a high, one last time.