Slowly Slowly @ Commercial Hotel
The gig to get you back into gigs.
TW: Mentions of Loss
About two to three months ago my good friend and I established that we both share a love for this band called Slowly Slowly. You probably guessed by the title of this article but when we found out they were performing around Melbourne we didn’t hesitate to buy tickets.
Slowly Slowly is an Australian Indie Rock band that has been producing music for approximately eight years now. I started listening around the release of their 2020 album ‘Race Car Blues’, and have continued to enjoy their music since. Their newest album ‘Daisychain’, released last year, has some beautifully fun nostalgic songs that provide an unreal amount of serotonin. The band of four; Ben Stewart (Vocals + Guitar), Albert Doan (Guitars), Alex Quale (Bass) and Partick Murphy (Drums) started their Australian Tour on the 1st of September, reaching Victoria for the show I was lucky enough to attend on the 7th of Septemeber.
Images Sourced from Slowly Slowly Website (2023): Photo of the Band by Kane Hibberd (left) and poster advertising the tour (right)
Before ‘diving’ into the gig (that will be funny later I promise), I have to establish a few
non-music related takeaways. As someone who had never even heard of South Morang (I’m not from Melbourne please don’t roast me) the location of the gig remains a mystery to me. Being an hour's drive from Monash Clayton Campus and nearly two by public transport, we got there slowly slowly (hehe). Once actually in the venue (i.e. Commerical Hotel), I found myself overheating immediately. So, a formal, and personal, recommendation, don’t wear long sleeves to a gig, especially if you plan on jumping, dancing and/or moving in any way.
Stand Atlantic Set (8:30 - 9:30 pm)
Although this was a Co-headling tour I had little to no knowledge about the first headliner, Stand Atlantic. That being said I am so glad that the first time I got to hear them was in person as their stage presence and energy were off the charts. They got the crowd to mosh like crazy and they even did a shoey on stage. Not knowing their music didn’t stop me from screaming to every song and jumping with excitement during their set. However, if I were to go to another concert of theirs it's a good thing I’ve started to listen to their music off stage with songs like ‘deathwish’ and ‘kill[h]er’ making it into my playlists. Consequently, Stand Atlantic's performance has produced a fan.
Images Sourced By Lizzie Tooth: Video Captures from Stand Atlantic Set ~ featuring shoey, moshing, and singing.
Slowly Slowly Set (10 - 11 pm)
Slowly Slowly was legendary. Although Stand Atlantic brought the energy, I personally felt more elevated during Slowly Slowy’s set. I’m obviously biased as knowing the lyrics to songs definitely helps, however, there was something so personal about their performance that made me unable to take my eyes off them. Not only did it feel like the band was genuinely enjoying performing, but they were putting everything they had into it. Three key parts of their set stood out. Firstly, they sang my favourite song of theirs, ‘Jellyfish’. This is the song that got me into the band, and if you haven’t heard it yet I definitely recommend having a listen. I funnily enough have a jellyfish tattooed, which I promise I didn’t get for this song. That being said, when they started singing it I couldn’t help myself but scream “Well, have you ever seen a Jellyfish? Now that shit’s crazy” while pointing at my tattoo. Secondly, I have never been to a gig where the majority of the band stage-dived into the audience (see I told you that would be funny later). We witnessed the first-ever stage dive for bassist Alex Quale with Albert Doan following close after him with lead singer, Ben Stewart. Stewart went twice with his second dive being absolutely crazy, he even started running upside down across the ceiling. And lastly, on a more sincere note, the band performed an unreleased song called ‘Hurricane’, which I found out later on, through my friend, was about Ben Stewart and his wife. While a lot of music is about loved ones, this was an incredibly raw song to perform as it was centred around loss
and miscarriages. Not only was this a beautiful song, but you could feel and see how much it meant to the singer. He put his all into it and made it a truly heartwrenching song release.
Slowly Slowy put on a show. The atmosphere they created sent the audience through a sweaty emotional rollercoaster, and I’m so grateful I got to be there to hear/see it.
Images Sourced By Lizzie Tooth: Video Captures from Slowly Slowly Set ~ featuring singing and stage diving
Something I adore about gigs is that they always make me love the artist more than I already did. I associate new and old songs with the experience, the good, and the bad, the music is never listened to the same as it was prior to the gig.
So go to that gig, and fall in love with music again, Lizzie T
Sources
Unified Music Group (2023) Slowly Slowly. Unified Music Group. Retrieved From https://www.slowlyslowlyband.com/tour