Live Review: Bakers Eddy, Nelipot, San Mei, Droves

Yours & Owls' Sundays at North ‘Gong Hotel delivered the goods once again with a diverse range of up-and-coming acts from home and afar. 

Local group Droves opened the show and impressed with their latest single Bloodline. It’s futuristic and densely layered with fast-paced synths and drums running along with lead singer Phillip Spiteri’s sustained vocals. It was a confident showing of an ambitious sound that effortlessly stood out.

San Mei (aka Emily Hamilton) was puffing for breath after having hit the ground running with her opening track. She was far from done though, and – along with guitarist Morgan Hamilton – gave a very peppy and energetic performance. The pre-recorded drum tracks kept the songs grounded, tight and true to their original versions. The airiness of San Mei’s vocals during her tune Heaven stood out as a triumph and was driven home by a pair of fast-paced guitars. 

On the flip side, the next two acts were uncompromisingly spontaneous and chaotic. Nelipot had a lot of brilliant, unexpected moments, the best one being their cover of Britney Spears’ Toxic. This iconic pop song lent itself well to an alternative-rock interpretation, or at least that was the case when this particular Central Coast group were the ones belting it out. Their enigmatic frontman Jordan Olyslagers was a delight to behold. His charismatic nature and soothing vocals ensured all the attention was on this promising three-piece for their whole set. 

With a sizeable, fiery crowd to feed off, the venue could barely contain what Bakers Eddy had ready to dish out. It was an out-and-out punk rock show with a lot of bombastic moments. Lead singer CJ Babbington made one diehard fan’s dream come true when he brought the lucky guy (Jack) up on stage to have the crowd sing him Happy Birthday. It didn’t end there for Jack though, as he re-emerged later in the set to share lead vocal duties with Babbington. The Melbourne-based group played plenty of new material which was positively received and even saw some punters singing along to lyrics they had only just heard. It was a hard-hitting performance that capped-off a feelgood afternoon of young musicians showcasing their skills and engaging personalities.