In honor of the newly released record Forgiving Spree, Australian pop-punk/indie-rock band Slowly Slowly has embarked on a two week UK/EU tour. On Thursday March 27th, they found their way to Rotterdam’s Rotown. They didn’t fly halfway across the world just by themselves, they took fellow ‘Aussies’ from the band Bukowski with them.
Support act Bukowski released their debut album I Don’t Wanna Live, I Don’t Wanna Die. a month ago. It’s a record that’s very personal for lead singer James ‘Bassy’ Karagiozis, as he wrote it to deal with his anxiety. Anyone familiar with the Australian pop-punk scene might recognize him as the bass player from Between You & Me, a band that went on an ‘indefinite hiatus’ late last year. Although Rotown is a small venue, it filled up quite nicely for this act. Even though the music deals with heavy themes (like the title of the record also suggests), they bring a surprisingly optimistic vibe to their set, getting the crowd dancing already.
A fun part of seeing a show in a small venue like this, is the way bands will interact with the crowd more than you’ll probably encounter in a bigger one. There’s a bit of banter coming from the band on stage, and since the crowd is close to the band, they respond easily. An example comes from the crowd starting an ‘aussie aussie aussie’ chant, with the band responding with the matching ‘oi oi oi’. It’s as if everyone in the room has been friends forever. This energy continued through the night, with fans getting the chance to chat with members of both bands at the merch table, after the show.
With Bukowksi setting the right mood for the night already, after a quick changeover, it was time for Slowly Slowly to play. They performed in the Netherlands not too long ago, supporting Stand Atlantic on their European tour last September. Some people in the crowd found Slowly Slowly’s music through that show, but when the band asked who was seeing them for the first time, a fair share of hands still went up in response.
The energy from earlier in the night continues through the headliner’s set, and you can tell everyone is having a great time and in a great mood. Singer Ben Stewart bounces across the stage, which gets the crowd to dance along more freely with him. There’s plenty of room to dance on the floor, and Stewart asks the crowd to show the band our worst dance moves, adding ‘not that I’m saying you’re bad dancers’ quickly after that. There’s a bit of hesitance from the crowd, getting Stewart to make a comment about how polite we’re being, stating ‘it’s feeling like we’re on a cute first date together!’.
Maintaining the show’s intimate energy, Stewart tells us that the song ‘Hurricane’ means a lot to him personally, slowing it down around halfway through the set. After catching our breath, we go back to more of the up-tempo energy, where a lot of songs throughout the set are ‘songs for lovers’. Every couple of songs, Stewart shines a spotlight on one of his bandmates, with drummer Patrick Murphy getting a short drum solo, as well as giving bassist Albert Doan and guitarist Seth Hancock their moments to shine.
The evening ends with the high tempo ‘Creature of Habit Pt. 2’, with Bukowski’s singer Bassy jumping back on stage, getting the energy in the room to reach a new high. Everyone in the crowd is using their last bit of energy to sing and dance along to the music, ending the night in the best way possible. The two Australian bands have both proven that once more, the best pop-punk shows come from down under.
