Article written by Caitlyn Saliba.
Over the weekend, a few of my fellow writers and I were able to head out and watch our friends in the band Alaina at their music video launch show at Tomcat. The bar itself was amazing; the walls were covered in street art and the main area near the stage was big and completely filled with people. We grabbed our $6 drinks, waited around, and to our surprise we actually found a smoking area, which we didn’t know existed. All the bands were hanging around before the show, meeting up with their friends and the crowd. It was a really relaxed atmosphere and everyone was having a good time. Tomcat is by far one of my favourite venues. I mean, just look at it.
So, first up on the stage was Zac BNJMN, who did instrumental music. The crowd was already riled up and ready to go, thanks to those $6 drinks I mentioned earlier. Everyone enjoyed the music and was getting into it, photographers everywhere. There were so many good vibes going around and everyone was having a great time. In a post, Zac said, “Huge shout-outs to Alaina for letting us be a part of their Rain single launch, was easily the most fun show of 2018, and for these amazing shots from Tamcam Images I cannot thank you enough."
Then, after Zac BNJMN left the stage, on came Alaina. There was only one hitch in the switch over – that was the fact that no one had seen the bass guitarist, Dale – but before long, he ran through the crowds and joined the rest of the boys, and without further ado, they started. Alaina was there to launch their new music video for their song ‘Rain’, which is out now on Spotify. I suggest heading over and checking that out, plus all of the bands I’m going to talk about today, because it is well worth it. Alaina absolutely rocked this show, they had everyone dancing and singing along to their songs, including me. I started standing on a chair to get better photos, because I was too short to see over people’s heads, and ended up staying up there, rocking out and enjoying the show. Alaina’s bio doesn’t do them justice, in my mind, but here it is anyway.
“Formed with members of local Brisbane bands Pyromance, Tim Sparks Fire, Empanic and Dark Relic, Alaina is looking to hit the Brisbane music scene with a bang. With a unique sound that allows the band to wear their influences on their sleeve, the group combines their collective years of experience with brand new, indiscriminately written, and emotionally charged music which blends into a unique cumulative sound that has been rarely heard in recent years.
In a climate where a lot of artists are releasing very one-dimensional music, Alaina have made a point to write music that makes the listener feel something and to always perform with conviction. With that in mind, their live show is an energetic experience which is clearly the culmination of their members' backgrounds, having opened for international touring bands the likes of the Misfits and Trash Boat.”
In a way, I think Alaina have much more to offer than what they’ve described here, and I think you really need to listen and see them live for yourselves before making your own mind up about them.
Here's the video:
They also got a rad photo from the night.
Next up, we had Vivvid. Vivvid are a four-piece rock band from Brisbane and they rocked the night just as hard as anyone else. It’s safe to say these guys were excited to play the show, posting on Facebook, “Our boys in Alaina released a dead-set banger today!! Come party with ya' boys @ Tomcats tonight!! We'll be there” along with a string of emojis. If you want to check out more of their music, you can head over to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR5voLirg-A By the time these guys got on stage, the crowd was still buzzing from Alaina’s performance and were ready to go again. They put on a great show.
After Vivvid, the final band to play was Illicit Symphony. Remember when I mentioned those $6 drinks? Well, by the time these guys hit the stage, the dance floor was getting kind of messy. But ignoring that fact, the guys played well and promoted their new music video for ‘Turn the Music Up’. They rocked the show and had a great time doing it. They ended the night with a bang and played to perfection.
Here's their new video:
I didn’t see a single hitch in the stage crew the entire night and we absolutely loved the show. We want to give shout outs to all the bands that played, and a massive shout out to BTM for putting on the show and for everything they do for the Brisbane music scene. So, next time you see one of these bands playing a show near you, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. We always have fun at their shows, and we strongly urge everyone else to get involved with the music scene and bring it back to its former glory days.
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