Live Review: Seabellies, I, Am Man, Al Parkinson

One of the best kept secrets around Melbourne's northern suburbs is the quality of bands that turn out to relatively quiet band rooms on school nights, which is perfectly demonstrated by tonight's unassuming yet fun midweek line-up.

Al Parkinson kicks off with an acoustic set coupled with beautiful lyrics of loves lost and broken hearts, delivered by a velvety voice that wouldn't sound out of place in a blues club. Although she's playing to a half-full room, everyone is captivated by Parkinson's beautifully written tracks such as Mess Around Man.

Next up, I, A Man, an alt.rock four-piece whose reverb-filled angsty rock ballads draw clear influences from bands like Deftones and Sonic Youth. Dreamy, sparse guitars come to a screeching climax in You're Boring Us All, which brings to mind surfy landscapes. Midway through the set, the band pay tribute to their '90s indie-rock influences with an emotional cover of Low's Murderer. The band do such an amazing job at whipping up the crowd enthusiasm for Seabellies that there's an audible sigh of disappointment when their set ends.

Hailing from Newcastle and tonight launching the first single off their forthcoming second record Fever Belle, Seabellies explode onto the stage with Young Cubs. The five-piece serve up a different brand of indie rock from their support band and resemble more recent (and less angsty) incarnations of the genre with radio-friendly hooks and catchy riffs. Case in point: during Board The Apartment Up, desperate calls of, “Don't go, don't, don't go” accompanied by surging guitars and militaristic drums layered on pre-recorded drum tracks result in a sound more like Yellowcard than Deftones. Each track is laden with pop hooks and backed up by frontman Trent Grenell's ear-splittling howls, which occasionally give way to gentle cooing as in Atlantis – a slow, piano-driven ballad. It's clear Grenell's energetic and emotive performance is truly genuine rather than simply an attempt to get the crowd going. Several songs into the set, the lead singer admits to getting emotional and slightly worn out after singing the new single, It's Alright.

Seabellies end this school-night gig with crowd favourite Paper Tigers from their debut By Limbo Lake, starting with a synth-heavy intro before breathily delivered verses give way to a rousing chorus sung by the entire band. Their energetic performance is infectious and gets the sparse crowd yelling for more. No doubt a weekend slot would bring in more bodies and probably the odd mosh every couple of tracks.