Even Molly Meldrum Showed Up For the Lemon Twigs’ Melbourne Show
Ashley Goodall

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Even Molly Meldrum Showed Up For the Lemon Twigs’ Melbourne Show

The D’Addario brothers have been given a tick of approval from an Australian music legend.

A rumour was working its way around the band room of Melbourne's Curtin Hotel as everyone waited for the Lemon Twigs to take the stage. A special guest had stopped by. The packed room was quietly sipping pints, after a dreamy solo opener from Mossy, when they spotted him: Molly Meldrum, perched up the back on a stool by the sound desk.

Molly Meldrum! The 74-year-old music industry legend, replete in his famous Stetson hat. Molly-freaking-Meldrum! Not who you expect to see out at a gig on a Tuesday night. But there he was.

Advertisement

And is it really that surprising?

In look and sound, the Lemon Twigs manage to evoke that 70s rock aesthetic from Meldrum's Countdown heyday. Yet it doesn't feel like a costume, or even a homage. Onstage, teen brothers Michael and Brian D'Addario radiate a gleeful, at times unhinged, energy that's so rare and pure, you can't even entertain the idea it's all a put on.

As the foursome made their way onstage, pushing through from the Curtin's green room, the crowd parted like butter. It felt they were already too big to be playing a room without a stage door. Brian emerged all glam rock in a ruffled silk shirt and flares, followed Michael and keyboardist Danny Ayala (who both opted to go shirtless) and bassist Megan Zeankowski—wearing her trademark look of being completely unfazed by the whole spectacle.

After some pleasantries—mostly drowned out by the crowd's hollering—the band launched into the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-esque "Haroomata" from 2016's Do Hollywood, with Brian on vocals. Behind the kit, Michael twirled the drumsticks between sporadic strikes of the cymbals. Harmonies swirled. Ayala's impeccable synths floated over the top of everything. Despite the frenetic facade, the whole thing was as tight as a band who've been touring together for years.

Next came "Why Didn't You Say That?" from the soon-to-be-released Brothers of Destruction EP, followed by the earnest, soaring ballad "Frank," and a cover of Jonathan Richman's "You Can't Talk to the Dude" that rivalled the original for feeling.

Advertisement

About halfway through the set, as Michael took the mic and Brian headed back to the drums, the mood shifted. A frenzied energy bubbled up from the room. The younger D'Addario brother stalked about the stage, channelling Joan Jett circa 1975, punctuating tracks like "Night Song" and "Baby Baby" with his signature kicks.

Much has already been made of these kicks but, honestly, they are the most genuinely lavish move I've seen onstage in a long time. The guy can literally kick his leg up right next to his ear, like some glam rock gymnast doing a standing split. It's amazing. Even Molly would've had to have been impressed.

Watching the Lemon Twigs live, seeing what consummate musicians they all are, you can sometimes forget how young they are. That it's been less than two years since the four friends from New York's Hicksville High School started recording together. That Michael still isn't even out of his teens. The brothers' dad remains the band's tour manager.

But there are moments during their live set when you do feel as though you're watching the end of a teen movie: that part when the band kids enter the school talent show, and completely blow everybody away. These are the songs teenagers dream of writing, if only they had the skill to put into words all the roiling emotions they're feeling.

This isn't a bad thing. The Lemon Twigs have an earnestness, an uncomplicated freedom, that makes for one of the most exciting live shows going around. What's more exciting though will be seeing where they will go next, how their sound and their show will mature over the next few years. Because, if Molly Meldrum showing up to your gig on a Tuesday night is a sign of anything, it's that you're a band that is going places.

Follow Maddison on Twitter and Instagram