Live Event Review - Radar ‘Ease My Mind’ Single Launch

Images courtesy of Al Cameron, Colour Correction by Sam Mosen.

Local music lovers rejoice! A night of splendour and a slow trickle of arrivals occupied The Toff for the strobe-lit launch of Radar’s new single, ‘Ease My Mind’. With performances from In Transit, Uncle Umma, and Cycad before Radar hit the stage in the third hour, character and charisma infected the stage and hyped audiences with new and original material, as well as the occasional cover sprinkled throughout. 

“I thought we’d sold around 30 tickets, so walking out and seeing all you is pretty f*cking great”, Radar’s front man announced as the night hit its peak. 

The journey to the penultimate set was studded with youthful garage bands progressively growing in confidence throughout the night. In Transit, the night’s opener, faced a stiff prospect: an empty dance floor. With less than 20 people filling out the bar the band led with some coastal, indie-surfer pieces as their 45 minutes swooned between breakups and bashful rebellion. 

Next, clad in matching wigs, five-piece indie-funk band Uncle Umma injected comedy into the night, engaging with audiences, boasting their abilities, and urging the venue to really get moving on the floor. An interesting  mix of UK and Australian grunge inspirations took hold of their track list, which swung from Amy Winehouse covers to the semi-autobiographical exploits of a romp to the local bottle-o. 

Progressing from high-school formal to pub jaunty from there, the floor was shaking by the time Cycad seized the energy, launching it into the stratosphere as the final warm-up. Without introduction, the band leapt into a break-neck pace for their first song in an attempt to reduce the time deficit of the night, which they later needlessly apologised for as the crowd yelped, whistled and applauded through their future-wave set as guitars soared.

“They told us to rush so we’re rushing,” was the band’s opening message, before getting comfortable following the third song, triumphantly announcing, “yeah, we’re just chilling now.”

The main attraction of the night, Radar, hit the stage with a professional swagger. Adept to the limelight, the band introduced themselves mid-song with each member highlighting their unique attributes with a solo on their respective instrument. Mixing a range of their best-known tracks before introducing the titular single of the launch ‘Ease My Mind’, and leaving the audience satisfied as the band closed out the night with Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’.

Leaving The Toff, crowds were encouraged to stay and continue to bleed the bar dry as the electricity slowly began to release its grip of the air. As for what’s next, the answer is obvious: keep an eye on these bands, especially Radar’s new material, because it’s not the last time you’ll see their names in Melbourne.

Check out Radar, Cycad, Uncle Umma and In Transit on Instagram.