Polish Club invited us to ‘Come Party’ and the Hobart crowd did just that.
Before we get into the detail of Polish Club playing a crazy good set, I want to paint a picture of the venue. Republic Bar in Hobart is just a regular old bar/pub with a stage setup that you might expect your friend to play their first gig on, or your local pub band to rock every Thursday night. The fact that the set started with a random guy playing the guitar on stage, as if he were a sound technician (he wasn’t), and promptly getting kicked out pretty much summed up the lax nature of the venue. Now, this may sound all negative but, honestly, it was perfect.
“I got my guitar back. We’re all good.” Frontman David Novak’s energy was on display from the get-go as his intense stare filled the soul of anyone who looked him in the eyes and his soulful yet rock-hardened vocals filled the venue. Just three songs in and he was sweaty enough to need towelling off, he was filling that small pub stage and somehow making it feel bigger. There was instant connection with the crowd as Novak told us “I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel” three times, progressively louder and with more grunt, in reference to the big crowd size. Drummer John, on the other hand, took full advantage of his first time with a microphone to thank “the bloke that bought me a Jagerbomb” and to shout-out scallop pies and Salamanca. “He might as well be wearing a t-shirt that says ‘I’m a fucking tourist’.”
There was a great balance of fast-pace high-energy and a slower, more soulful pace, with songs like ‘If It Was Me’ and their new single ‘Divided’ showing their softer side. The latter was dedicated to “all the mums out there for Mother’s Day” with the clock having ticked past midnight and it officially being Sunday. Up next was a cover – and when I say that, I mean that I saw the setlist and it literally just said “cover”. Novak asked the crowd for suggestions. “Did you guys say Powderfinger? Weezer? Oh, The Strokes.” They played a killer cover of ‘Someday’ before telling us “We had Powderfinger ready to go just FYI. You would’ve had the best version of ‘Baby I’ve Got You On My Mind’.” Something to note for next time.
The crowd was active all night but by far the biggest reactions came from their biggest singles, back-to-back, at the end of their set. “If you don’t know this one I’m not sure why you’re here.” That fast and catchy opening riff of ‘Beeping’ had everyone dancing and an extended outro let Novak dial it up yet another notch. ‘Come Party’ garnered an even bigger reaction with sing alongs, clapping, and chants of “fuck yeah” both on and off the stage.
The boys from Sydney has one last surprise for us before they closed things out. “This guy’s been shouting out Flume all night. You’re at the wrong concert. We’re Polish Club, we don’t play EDM.” They finished the night with their recent (and probably the best of the year so far, in my opinion) Like A Version, covering ‘Never Be Like You’. Capped off a pretty flawless set.
THE BREAKDOWN:
Hometown: Sydney, NSW
Latest Album: Alright Already, released 7 April 2017
Sounds like: A tricky one with their slower stuff sounding like the slower Foo Fighters but their faster stuff more like the White Stripes
Say what? Mid-song, popular local support act Maddy Jane ran on stage, looked at John, nodded, and turned up the amp. “This song goes out to her” John said before they played ‘Don’t Fuck Me Over’.
Huggett out.
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