Warpaint bring the sunday night girl power at Chevron Festival Gardens

SUNDAY NIGHT IS FOR GIRL POWER. 

We need to talk about the smoky, woozy and immensely talented, Brisbane chick Gabriella Cohen. She has recently signed to Brooklyn based label Captured Tracks, sealing a worldwide deal excluding Australia and New Zealand, where she will remain on Dot Dash / Remote Control Records. She set the tone with some pretty impressive reverby songwriting. Think 60s girl-group with a touch of Mazzy Star. Enough with the comparisons, she showed some real promise THANK YOU! 

Then Warpaint approached the stage with a powerful aura captivating the near capacity crowd at Chevron Festival Gardens. Having seen the band a few years ago, I knew I would regret it if I missed them. These gals mean business and they haven't changed a bit! Although most of them are now thirty-somethings, their music and stage presence has remained youthful and cheery. 

The girls were quite aloof and as a result, there was limited interaction in between songs. Their massive sound was a mash up of hard-percussion driven rhythms (thank you Stella Mozgawa), and an aesthetic that captivated young and old. Their incredible jam through their new and old material raised a ghostly energy and heightened everyone's spirits. Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman have some lungs on them that is for sure. Their distinct voices work together to add texture and depth to the band's sound. 

They made their way through their incredible back catalogue maintaining their cool-girl aesthetic. Their technical talent was never compromised. Seeing them bring their last record, Heads Up, to life was truly spectacular and exceeded my expectations. At the same time, old favourites Undertow and Elephants were the icing on the cake. Their captivating talent and beautiful vocal harmonies made the set feel longer than it was... and I am grateful for that! It made my Monday that little bit more enjoyable. 

Could it have been the best gig of this year's PIAF contemporary music season? Probably, but I'd like to see what Kurt Vile and Toro Y Moi have to say about that.