On Thursday night, after a couple of public transport mishaps and a long, sub-zero wander through the grounds of ANU, the last strains of Boat Show’s set guide me to ANU Bar. San Cisco’s show here is one of the last at this stalwart of a Canberra venue, and locals are determined not to let it go out without a bang – the show has sold out and the gig-goers look ready to party.
Unsurprisingly, the place is already absolutely packed out for Thelma Plum – she’s supporting San Cisco, but is, of course, easily a main act in her own right. She blazes through her set, the only problem being that it feels like it goes by far too quickly. Additionally, sometimes her interactions with the crowd (she speaks quickly and quietly) get lost in the noise of the particularly boisterous crowd. Still, she manages to catch their attention when she’s playing, especially with a fiery rendition of ‘Around Here’.
Waiting for San Cisco, the people around me get even more rowdy – a couple of people start a short-lived chant for the band to take the stage, a group of Hahn’s Super Dry-clutching guys shove forward, ultimately defeated by the physics of crowd density and a few women determined not to lose their hard-won positions.
Once the band kicks off with ‘Did You Get What You Came For’, all seems forgiven and the crowd is set to dance all night. Balancing their setlist well between old and new, San Cisco power their way through classics like ‘Fred Astaire’ as well as new tracks like ‘The Kids Are Cool’. The audience loves every minute of it, and ultimately the band performs not one, not two, but three encore songs, finally finishing with ‘Run’. A great send-off for a great venue.
