Live Review: Stillwater Giants, Edie Green, The Hunting Birds

Stillwater Giants' Munich album launch at Amplifier Bar was a celebration and toast to the band's six years of gigging. Due to the weather affecting the early turnout of the punters, The Hunting Birds set was delayed 15 minutes so extra people could come. The Hunting Birds proved their worth, evoking an excellent balance of country and folk. With the deep melodics echoing from leading vocalist Kendra Fewster and acoustic assault led by the rest of the band, it had a style vaguely similar to Of Monsters & Men, but with a more sassy country twang. Covering From The Sea by Eskimo Joe, the band definitely did not fail to please.

Edie Green provided a classic blend of consistent indie-rock/pop, with an attitude that was loud, clear and unassailably entertaining. Lead singer Sophie Wiegele provided an audible backbone throughout the set, her abilities raising questions about her lung capacity — limitless and possibly breaking the laws of physics. They nutted out an honest, no nonsense form of rock'n'roll, helpfully articulated by a lead guitarist who resembled a certain biblical figure, jammed heavenly and could potentially walk on water. Finishing off with recent song New Heavy, Edie Green rocked out for sure.

If there was a Grammy for onstage entertainment then surely the Stillwater Giants would have won it purely from the night's antics. Involving a lookalike from hit TV show Neighbours, a guest appearance of Dorothy The Dinosaur (just a cap to be honest), a beer-sculling challenge and cheesy group hugs all buttered over by top-grade banter, it was a party like no other. Playing many of the tracks from their Munich album, it was classic, cheeky and fun indie-rock.

Churning out hits like Montage, Fly Under The Radar and Give Into Me, the band compelled the crowd to boogie. It was a testament to what the band had achieved over the years, and the long-awaited eventual launch of a full-length album. A third of the crowd seemed to hail from Margaret River, so a large degree of local fanfare was felt for the band. With bassist Kyle Lockyer ceremoniously tossing off his shirt, the band closed off their set with a cheeky cover of Peaches by The Presidents Of The United States Of America.