The cold night air of last Friday evening stung my face as I hurried across the University of Canberra campus. I was heading down to Zierholz to seek shelter and soak up some spacey tunes from Aussie techno outfit; Parachute Youth. Zierholz, the relatively new on-campus bar was glowing warmly, and a familiar sounding bass line could be heard coming from inside. I entered the bar, eager for the boutique German beer to start flowing, and some serious tunes to get pumping.
I will be honest; I was not expecting a big crowd. It is after all, the limbo period between semester one and winter term at UC, the night was bitterly cold, and let’s face it, Canberrans can be a tough crowd to draw. However, as I stood by the bar and enjoyed Celebrity Sex Tape vs Fro & Mo’s DJ set of nicely mixed alternate-pop tunes, the bar slowly but steadily began to fill up. By the time the second support act, local lads; The Streetlight Parade began playing, there was a healthy sized crowd of very fashionable folk drinking and conversing quite amiably. I was pleasantly surprised.
Streetlight Parade’s alternative rock songs managed to draw a few enthusiastic hipsters to the dance floor, though the majority of the small crowd were more comfortable watching from the sides. The bar continued to fill up with trendy types and the air was rich with catchy guitar riffs and beautiful vocals.
Another local indie group Vacant Field were up next to entertain the steadily increasing crowd. Providing some onstage banter and some rock songs to get the crowd moving. Despite the hesitant hipsters reluctance to let go and dance, Vacant Field were enjoying themselves. They did however manage to win the crowd over by playing an impressive cover of MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’. Finally the audience gave in, allowing their lead feet to lighten and their beers to start spilling.
Vacant Field’s set ended in abrupt darkness, after the stage lights suddenly switched off. The momentary confusion was soon replaced by a sense of anticipation. Zierholz was now packed and I was starting to feel lost in a sea of fashionable facial hair, maroon cardigans and all other things dangerously trendy.
As the stage remained in darkness, a haunting bass line began to play. Strobe lights flashed, and in a wild frenzy people flocked to the stage. The lights came on and illuminated Parachute Youth, who launched straight in to their set of techno tracks, the audience responding enthusiastically.
Parachute Youth’s trippy dance music kept the crowd engaged and moving. When they finally delivered the moment we’d all been waiting for; and whipped out their hit song ‘Can’t get better than this’, the room went crazy. It was easy to loose yourself in the high spirits of the crowd, and I barely noticed the copious amounts of drink being spilled on me by my re-energized neighbours, rocking some serious dance moves.
Parachute Youth’s set seemed to end far too soon, and I think the rest of the crowd agreed, as they eagerly demanded ‘One more song!’ to which Parachute Youth humbly obliged, treating the Canberra lot to a glorious remix of ‘Can’t get better than this.’ The audience was all too happy to let loose one more time to the catchy club anthem.
Once Parachute Youth had bid their final Adieu, Zierholz cleared out quickly. I found it hard to leave the warm, cosy confines of the German Bar and enter the icy night air. However, Parachute Youth’s ‘Can’t get better than this’ was still swirling around my head and kept me happily distracted from the cold as I headed home. It had been an impressive evening, showcasing some fine Australian indie bands, in a quirky little German-themed venue.
