International Relations Tour: Washington, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Hungry Kids of Hungary

I ventured out to Fortitude Valley on Good Friday night with a few compadres. The streets were thankfully mostly devoid of the usual miscreants that seem to frequent the clubs around the main strip. The Valley Studios was open, and a few artists were playing – Washington, Philadelphia Grand Jury and Hungry Kids of Hungary, collectively formed under the grand banner of the 'International Relations tour'. I'd never seen any of these bands, but since I am actually doing a Masters of International Relations I felt somewhat obliged to attend. In the end, I'm glad I did.

I got there at nine o’clock on the rocket clock to witness quite an abundance of slightly over inebriated but willing punters. Oh yes, The Valley Studios has a very generous BYO licensing policy! Huzzah.

Unfortunately, I turned up too late to catch the fitchin' looking melbournite Megan WASHINGTON. I did manage to check out her rather fashionable looking glasses from a distance though. She's quite an attractive lass and therefore, she must have been good, because we all know only hot people make good music.

PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY took the stage and were immediately imposing. They have a Hives/Electric Six vibe about them, minus the snazzy clothing. The bassist was an imposing man with an even more imposing beard. His dance moves were also quite hilarious, and their songs were extremely entertaining. I especially enjoyed watching the drummer play his instrument with 101% passion. They finished with a cracking rendition of a song I assume was called 'We Don’t Want to Party' (going by the fact that seemed to be the only lyric), nearly destroying instruments and the stage in the process.

The HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY are up next, playing an energetic set of pop music. Harmonies are through in without restraint. They play some great little tunes including 'Set it Right' and 'Scattered Diamonds' and clearly enjoy performing live. At one stage, the aforementioned Megan Washington got up to play some kind of bell instrument which is barely audible above the mix. But hey, it's all part of the show. The conclusion is rapturous, with a whole bunch of people getting up to do some sort of beatle-esque sing along complete with an avalanche of tambourines.

And that was the end of that. After chatting to a hilarious random named Hannah out on the street (whose karate chopping stories will live long in my mind), my friends and I attempted to catch I Heart Hiroshima playing a midnight set at Rics Café, but was prevented to the huge amount of people congregated around its entrance. It seems the miscreants had returned.