Live Review: The Preatures, Ali Barter

The Granada Tavern is not the most expected venue for a band such as The Preatures. Sporting Cog and Spiderbait merch on the walls, it is a pub with an incredibly large gaming room, located across the street from world-renowned art gallery MONA. Perhaps it was this location that drew The Preatures to The Granada, and however unexpected it was, the music quickly drowned out the sound of the pokies.

As part of not only a regional tour, but the band's largest tour to date, The Preatures showcased in Hobart last night and will head up to Launceston tomorrow. A 40-show tour is a huge effort and will hopefully be as great a success as Hobart was last night.

With, disappointingly, no local support, Ali Barter was first up to bat. The last time she performed in Hobart was during her own headline tour where she played at the Republic Bar. Barter noted the "regional" venue, asking the crowd if Berriedale is still considered Hobart (the crowd decided it is). 

Barter's '90s riot grrrl-esque vocals are easily one of the best aspects of watching her perform live; an aspect that is often not showcased on her recorded tracks.

The crowd was hesitant at first, with many people congregating at the bar, not paying attention, but after two or three songs everybody's eyes and ears were hooked. With a combination of old and yet-to-be-released songs, Ali Barter was a beautiful opening act to gain attention from the initially unsure crowd.

The crowd was still slowly spilling through the door as The Preatures began their set for the night, but as the crowd grew as did the energy within the room. The Preatures possess a sort of energy that is incredibly rare; every gig is a performance and the crowd eats it up. They never stop, they're some kind of performing machines. It's hard to imagine the band performing to this standard 40 times, but I also have great faith they will.

Each band member made incredible use of the stage, dancing and getting involved with the crowd, particularly frontwoman Isabella "Izzi" Manfredi who took to dancing across the stage at every opportunity possible, gaining much admiration from the watching crowd.

The sound was flawless. Over the past five years since their certified gold hit Is This How You Feel?, The Preatures have built a solid repertoire of songs that the crowd knew and sang along to. An older man behind me throughout the set couldn't stop exclaiming "I love this, I love their vocals, they're so great," and he's right. They were.

Upon first look, The Granada Tavern did not seem a suitable place for these two bands. However, incredible energy from the artists and a great deal of love from the crowd transformed the room. MONA is already transforming Berriedale into an up-and-coming urban hub; perhaps more gigs like this will too.