Thanks, friends.
The launch show on Saturday night was a giant success. We totally sold out, and the crowd was so lovely and enthusiastic and fun. We couldn’t have expected it all to go so well. I garbled a brief thank you on stage to everyone that had helped, but I can’t help but feel that didn’t reflect the appreciation we owe to all the dedicated people who made it all happen.
Firstly a massive thanks should go to Skinny Jean, Doom Doom, and Grids/Units/Planes, who put up with the postponement and messing around, and delivered absolute quality performances on the night. We were honoured to have such talent to share a stage with. An equally huge thanks to Joss and Phil for their massive effort on making the bands sound amazing - a killer combo of two of the most sonically-obsessed Brisbanites I know. Joss was moving things around, testing, checking and EQing from late morning on Saturday, and Joss & Phil’s tag team effort over the course of the night was unrelenting. Phil also generously lent his Volvo to the cause, without which nothing much would have been possible.
Anyone who rocked up may have noticed the art on the walls, the lanterns, projections, and the generally immersive ambience. This was the work of talented artist/curator Kate Palella, who with worked tirelessly to transform the Alley into a haven of coolness. Thanks also to the artists Peter Alwast and Alexandra Winters for allowing us to display their work, and all the volunteers who helped set up on the day including Rozi Suliman and Brodie Luttrell.
Were also grateful for our lovely bar staff, some of whom got pulled in at the last minute, and Phil, Coops, Nimai, Grace, Kaeli, Brodie, Emma, and Mem for running the door and merch.
We have to give a particularly enormous pile of thanks to our manager Tian Zhang, for her super-powers of co-ordination and the generous chunk of her time she’s devoted to making the launch awesome. It was good to see Tian sinking some well-earned beers later on in the evening.
And finally a huge to thanks to the Alley for having us, and to lofly recordings and 4C arts collective all their support and help in presenting the event.
(photo above by Ned Guggenheim)
