My oh my! I haven’t done a blog post in yonkadoodles – life gets in the way sometimes. But here we are. Last night was a perfect way for me to reincarnate myself and my blog writing days by going to see Teenage Dads at the Zoo on a Sunday evening. I had a very wholesome night full of good tunes, dumplings and ice-cream (note the dumplings and ice-cream were not included in gig ticket but would recommend as a pre for any gig).
Teenage Dads (you should know – from my extensive research (aha) they aren’t actually teenage dads but all the power to dads who are actually teenagers) are four beautiful boys coming in hot from the Mornington Peninsula that make tunes that are fruity-indie-pop-rock-synthy sounding. They give you glimpses of Vampire Weekend and the Stokes vibes. The band gives off a friendly energy. Golden retriever energy. They make music full of catchy melodies, delicious vocals, cool synth stuff, zesty drumming and some very cool guitar riffs. They also produce/mix/record/do cover art mostly themselves which is so cool! This tour was in celebration of their latest single, Exit Sign.
The support act of the night was Royel Otis – a groovy band from Sydney that play 90s kinda indie-psych-pop vibes. Very cool. They were energetic onstage and found their groove after a couple of songs. I really liked Oysters In My Pocket and Only One.
OKAY. The main act: Teenage Dads. They had a really fun stage presence – lots of funky dance moves and getting the crowd involved. You could feel how happy they were to be on stage which made everyone in the crowd engaged and ready for a boogie. They said it was one of their biggest out of state gigs so that was exciting all round. They played Thank You for the Honey, Honey to start the night off to get everyone in the groove for a good night. They played a couple of unreleased songs which is always a treat. Some of their earlier music, Steven’s Game and It Belongs to Us made a sweet appearance also. For a change of pace, they played Drunken Soldier, alongside Come On, Cowboy. Fire your Gun!, which is high energy dancey song (effects enhanced by dancing with finger guns).
Obviously, they played Exit Sign which is a major hit in my books – super catchy and kinda feels like a main character moment. They played Sunburnt which is their most popular for a reason – Summer vibes driving home from the beach but works for all seasons and all occasions. They played Piano Girl which is a real BOP.They finished the night on my favourite song, Cheerleader – it feels bright and upbeat (but I think it might be more of a thinker).
Thank god for good friends (hey Katy) and live music. Balance has been restored in Clara’s universe. Teenage Dads are becoming a major name in the Australian music scene (we love to see it) and I’m super excited to see them again supporting Spacey Jane. Good times are ahead. Stay tuned.
clara x 2022
clara writes 