Lining up to get our IDs checked outside Transit Bar held a certain amount of irony for the recent Snakadaktal gig, given a few short months ago, the band we were all there to see wouldn’t have passed the check.
The young five-piece burst onto the indie music scene last year as winners of Triple J’s Unearthed High competition. As students at Rudolph Steiner School in Melbourne, the group received extensive airplay on Triple J, and quickly built up a large following around the country.
Warming up the crowd was Sydney artist Elizabeth Rose, whose electronic, Bjork-inspired tracks proved quite popular. While many used her set as a chance to play pool or catch up with friends over a drink, her cover of Foreign Language by Flight Facilities piqued the interest of many punters, who then focussed their attention on the stage.
After a short wait, it was time for Snakadaktal, and the group took to the stage sporting matching glittery war-paint.
While the temperature outside was rapidly dropping, the swarm of bodies at the sold-out gig ensured Transit Bar maintained balmy conditions, with singer and keyboard player Phoebe Cockburn asking the bar for extra water after only the second song.
The group quickly captivated the audience, and filled the venue with their dreamy, pop sounds. Working their way through a set comprising of songs from their debut EP, the biggest reactions were saved for the group’s two hit tracks, ‘Chimera’ and ‘Air’, which had the crowd singing along loudly.
While it’s only Snakadaktal’s first national tour, the group were very comfortable and casual on stage, even inviting the entire crowd for a post-gig soccer match.
Unlike their indie counterparts, Snakadaktal’s songs hold a far more sombre tone, meaning a majority of the crowd spent most of the set standing still. But this all changed when, to end the set, the group took a bit of an alternative approach playing a cover of Swedish House Mafia’s ‘One’, launching the crowd into a dancing frenzy. It was enough to satisfy the masses, yet left us all excited to see just what these teenagers can conquer next.
