Photos & Review By: Taylor Dylko and Ollie Midson

If one had to sum up the events of last Friday night in one word, it would be NOSTALGIA. The emos of the last decade have all grown up but their defiant spirit and angsty rebellion have stayed forever young. Black and neon clashed in the giant ballroom of the Melbourne Pavilion for a night of reminiscing, rocking, and repeatedly insisting to our mums that “it’s not a phase!” Complete with giant mirrors where punters could express themselves with lipstick messages, and a dedicated emo makeup station, this was a throwback to remember.

To kick off Our First Kiss we had Melbourne’s own pop punk Terra. Opening the event with their tracks Wishful and Arrows from the latest release of their EP Reverie this year. With the help of friend Tim Irwin playing guest vocals for Arrows, and James Hibble doing a phenomenal job for Confidence, Terra gave a dynamic performance like always. Keeping their dedicated fans who came down on time, having a dance throughout their set with new and older songs combined. Seeing them play live is never a disappointment. Watching their set, it is very evident that they enjoy themselves and have a great time whilst being on stage. Their smiles are contagious that you can’t help but have a great time too. Ending with the track Fear, it was a no brainer having Terra on the lineup for Our First Kiss.

***Closure In Moscow Photo By Taylor Dylko***

These Melbourne prog rockers have been going strong for over 15 years and their musicianship was on full display, seamlessly shifting through a diverse array of genres like pop, fusion, funk and even a few jazzy passages made it to the ears of the audience. One could even make the comparison to heavy fusion titans Twelve Foot Ninja, albeit for an audience that aren’t that partial to heaviness and more inclined to vibe and dance. CIM have a new album in the works which will be released sometime very soon.

***Dream On Dreamer Photo By Taylor Dylko***

Dream On Dreamer confidently strode onto a blue and red lit stage and immediately launched into Let It In, their mainstay opening track for the last four years which got the audience off their feet. Marcel Gadasz and Zach Britt are vocal powerhouses and play off each other to great effect. The collective energy the band exuded was certainly contagious as the crowd opened the first pit of the night to Downfall, off their now 11 year old debut album Heartbound. The band closed out their set strongly with fan favorite Stay and a reminder that they only have two more shows left as Dream On Dreamer. So, if you missed out on Our First Kiss, your last chances to see DOD will be at Crowbar in Sydney on May 28, and the Corner Hotel in Melbourne on June 3rd, where they will bid farewell forever. Tickets now on sale.

***The Getaway Plan Photo By Taylor Dylko***

The anticipation for these boys was certainly tangible as the crowd grew in size before The Getaway Plan took to the stage and launched into the opening notes of The Reckoning. The Melbourne four piece showed no signs of age after the last 18 years they’ve been together, and everybody hung on every single note. The audience wasn’t standing still as they carried on through to other favorites like Landscapes, Shadows and Red Flag, but what really captured the hearts of all in attendance was the timeless classic, Where The City Meets The Sea. Vocalist Matt Wright was suddenly and effortlessly drowned out by the entire audience as they sung along to every word and made the tune their own. A true highlight of the evening.

For only their second show since their breakup post “Homecoming” and announcement of their signing to UNFD, Short Stack showed no signs of slowing down and got the crowd off their feet as Burn You Down - off their latest album Maybe There’s No Heaven - set the room on fire. What followed was a throwback set to all the three piece’s bangers of their heyday when they captured the hearts and minds of emo kids everywhere. The iconic opening riff of Shimmy A Go Go had the audience screaming for more and dancing til their legs dropped to other tunes like We Dance To a Different Disco, Honey and Planets. Following a surprise cover of blink 182’s All The Small Things, the band capped off their set with Sway Sway Baby to rapturous applause and never-ending screams.

***The Veronicas Photo By Taylor Dylko***

By this point, we had all truly gone back in time to the noughties and started to bear witness to the twin titans of pop rock, The Veronicas. Due to COVID concerns, Lisa and Jess elected to forego their live band and perform the show themselves, but their presence alone combined with the dazzling light show more than made up for it as they commanded the crowd with confidence and charisma. This was the payoff for the nostalgia everyone in the room craved and it was glorious. Their iconic silhouettes and choreographed synchronicity cast an exciting shadow over the crowd as they all relived their youth, singing and dancing to tracks like When It All Falls Apart, Hook Me Up, Everything I’m Not, and lesser heard track Mother Mother off their debut album which allowed Jess to flex her screaming chops to tremendous effect. The night closed out to 4ever, the first taste the world got of The Veronicas, and under the shadow of a Rainbow Pride flag with a declaration that this is a safe space for everyone, the crowd ravenously lapped up the “new national anthem”, Untouched.