Surrounded by surfboards, amp stacks and a glimmer of secrecy, Allah-Las and The Ruminaters showed Manly a ripping good time at Wild Things Gallery.
In terms of secret gigs, it doesn’t get much better than this. Your favourite Californians vs your most beloved Avalonians vs all your mates, a few bottles of wine and a warehouse – all on a school night.
This is what goes down when Allah-Las finally comes to town.
The lo-fi Angeleno rock’n’rollers released their third album Calico Review last year and decided it was high time to mosey on Down Under to hang with their Aussie protégés.
So the lower east responded by selling out all of their shows. This brings us to last Tuesday night; knee deep in long surfer locks, tambourines, tinnies and some gorgeously loose vibes at an unannounced show in the small gallery space of Wild Things in Manly Vale.
The locale couldn’t have been a more perfect foil for this show. Surfboards lined warm wooden panels and framed artwork dotted the warehouse walls to set the very fitting scene. First up were our staple locals The Ruminaters.
Off to a howling start with singer Pencil all but swallowing the mic, the crowd slowly slipped into place around the makeshift stage to watch the fracas unfold. These guys have an insane live rep and didn’t disappoint despite the intimate setting.
Simmering down again, Allah-Las took over shortly after and kicked off in the most awesomely mellow way. They had everyone swaying, and then dancing, and then storming the stage with shakers and tambourines being thrown around freely.
The dudes were clearly stoked to be there and we made sure they knew they were welcome. It was an excellent night by all accounts.
Their remaining Sydney and Melbourne dates are now completely sold out, so props to you if you scored a ticket. With such an enormous response though, they’re sure to be back soon (we hope).
Photos by Dani Hansen.
