Equipped with brightly coloured eyeshadow and knee high boots that have seen more than any other boot should ever see, we set off for King Street, Newtown, the eclectic display of the incredible roster of talent we have within the Australian music space.
Only six and a bit months after the King Street Summer Crawl, we were treated to the King Street Winter Crawl, which served huge. With over 250 incredible artists and 45 venues, we were spoilt for choice and had to run rather than crawl around Newtown to catch the wealth of talented artists who got to show off their work.
We knew we were in for a lot of fun, and because we like to dance around, a lot of bruises.
Moth!
Starting off our crawl at 3pm, we sauntered to 8:52 Hong Kong Restaurant, not the usual spot you’d expect to see a gig, but that’s what makes the crawl so special!
While diners chowed down on incredible Homemade Wonton Noodle Soup, Moth! the brand new punk band started their set and kicked off our crawl!
We luckily got to see the punk rock four-piece only a couple of days earlier in a house show. We adore the fact that Julia, Rupert and Dylan all swap between lead singing songs, lead guitar and bass!
It allows for all of their unique personalities and points of views to shine, all while being so in tune to one another. All of this occurs while drummer Tom holds down a rocksteady beat for the trio to all shine with their individual lead songs.
We feel like the band’s songs come from such a realistic place that is so incredibly relatable and beautiful, sometimes even hilarious. From discussing the online pageant of self promotion that LinkedIn is, to falling in love with a friend.
We adore how fresh, fun and real Moth! are and cannot wait to keep jiving to their sets to learn more of their songs that keep us moving and grooving while we found ourselves occasionally giving each other a thoughtful nod or glance, like, “wow, that’s so real!”
Miniskirt
One of the bands that ring true in the sentiment of long-lasting admiration for us, are the fellas from the Northern Rivers, Miniskirt!
Miniskirt were playing the outdoor stage and we knew they needed to be a part of our pilgrimage.
This set was one where your twins were thankful we had bought the fast passes. It felt quite evil to jaunt past line waiters eagerly wanting to catch the four piece, but don’t worry, we took full advantage of our good fortune.
Jumping through the crowd and slipping our way to the front like Dennis the menace adjacent characters, we were lucky enough to get a front row space in this absolute vacuum of passion.
Playing a mix of old favourites like ‘Billy Elliot’, ‘Brigantine Street’, ‘Squeeze down’ and ‘Pretty’ we’d been thrashed around to in yesteryears to now, to new hits that we could get thrown about in present times like ‘Been a While’, ‘Pottsville River’ and ‘Mud’.
To say we were completely enamoured for their 45-minute set would be the biggest understatement.
“How about we do a swap over of people, if you haven’t smiled or moved once during this set, let someone who’s been waiting in line take your place,” Jacob mused. A pretty great and fair enough sentiment in our eyes, there were plenty of deserving people in the line!
The crowd was simply ravenous for the band, and the band alike, feasting on the energy output. The crowd were simply hanging on every word.
The mosh was a scrum of chaos becoming its own entity behind us. People danced, people swung off signs, people pushed, people crowd surfed, people helped each other up, and we swear to god we saw someone do a spin kick. This all went on whilst we kept propping onto the speakers for stability and what felt like dear life.
Seeing said scrum gave us a sense of urgency to have a dive into it. Matilda helped Sam onto the stage before giving her a slap on the back, ‘go get em tiger style’ and Sam leapt into the crowd taking flight for a small surf!!
We left battered and bruised but with the biggest shit-eating grins on our faces from the set.
Twelve Point Buck
After dinner with some friends on the crawl, we decided to trek to The Union and try to see the three piece, Twelve Point Buck at the Union. With hazy riffs, protruding beats and a vibe that you can’t help but sway to, we were … heartbroken to be outside!
We lined up outside The Union, listening to the band from outside, we only got a slight glimpse of the incredibly gorgeous and talented drummer Yael before she disappeared behind the curtains again, we need a Twelve Point Buck re-run! Twel
Flight To Dubai
As soon as Twelve Point Buck finished, we were able to make our way into The Union. The venue was packed with punters eagerly awaiting a Flight to Dubai.
As soon as the set started with the raucous and racy, ‘Firefighter Lady’ we knew we were at the helm of some music havoc and magic led by the one and only Atlas, clad in a western shirt and black makeup that looked as though he was wearing a mask that forced you to look deep into his eyes and really heard what he was saying!
Alongside Atlas’s incredible crowd work and enigmatic stage presence, was accompanied by the rest of the band, wickedly talented instrumentalists who can take any soft sway into an intense mosh pit within moments, with their biting riffs and tangible beats. We were treated to two new tracks nestled within crowd favourites. Someone yelled out they wanted ‘Bully’ to which Atlas replied, “I’ll play what I want, alright,” however, much to this punter’s delight it did play later in the set.
As the show went on, onlookers were charmed and started to mosh, we fell forwards like daffodils wilting in the shade trying not to land on a speaker as people raged and moshed. Then, in the next track, we did the twist with a lovely fellow with a homemade shirt that on the front said ‘Flight to Dubai’ and then ‘Elvis who?’ on the back. Matilda’s bag even somehow went through the mosh and made its way back to her within a few bounces – all of this occurred between the space of a few tracks.
We left the set with the biggest smiles on our faces and had the absolute best time, moving and jumping, screaming and even falling with some friends, new and old.
Krystal Rivvers
An incredible artist and a very happy happenstance we got the chance to see Krystal Rivvers very briefly at Marly Bar.
Although short and sweet spotting the incredible act. We’re absolutely now going to be keeping tabs and absolutely implore you to do the same!
If you’re into soulful rock that really packs a punch we would recommend!!
The band absolutely dominated the stage and we are still kicking ourselves we didn’t get to see them for longer.
Jack Griffith
Our lucky last set!!
Your twins were feeling pretty spent at this point, the crawl was close to being just another fun memory but we had one last act to see, Jack Griffith!
Hailing from Pist Idiots royalty, the solo act of Jack’s was full of familiar faces in the crowd, band mates, friends and fans alike. It was once again another nostalgia take we couldn’t miss.
Jack’s solo act is thoughtful and tranquil. We were mused through melodies about his wanting to leave his work to go fishing. We briefly broke the sense of tranquility when Jack asked if anyone had used the Penrith train line, we are Wild West ladies, of course we have!
It almost felt as if we were sitting in an old Australiana painting when we closed our eyes and listened to Jack’s playing.
Unfortunately we don’t know exact names to the songs but we can’t simply wait for some kind of release of the singles or hope to catch Jack again live!
A common theme of this crawl and any King Street Crawl is nostalgia. We’re reminded of yesteryear (we started going to these in 2017!) and all the friends we’ve made along the way and bands we’ve had the pleasure of seeing.
We’re already keen for the next crawl, until next time!!