Polish Club’s Get Some Clarity Tour comes to The Lansdowne Hotel
After a year of international tours, celebrating the release of debut album, Alright Already, Sydney’s own rock duo have returned home to promote their latest single, ‘Clarity’. With the momentum of a stellar 2018 driving them to one of Sydney’s best showrooms at the Lansdowne Hotel, the Get Some Clarity tour cemented Polish Club’s place as the city’s hottest rock band.
The Lansdowne Hotel is not only the best music bar in the CBD, but in all of Sydney. Whether it’s because of the support of homegrown bands or the inclusive attitude of the enthusiastic crowds, every concert is uniquely unforgettable and Polish Club were no different. With the tour running from Wednesday to Friday, supporting acts Wing Defence and Heaps Good Friends stepped up to the challenge of opening to the sold-out floor. The overwhelming support of the Lansdowne audience for smaller bands is always clear. However, what was exceptional was Polish Club’s support for these grassroots acts, coming out and playing with the bands. After being gifted with a guitar solo and a hug from front man Novak, the drummer of Heaps Good Friends proudly proclaimed that he would never shower again. As good as Wing Defence and Heaps Good Friends’ light indie rock music was, everyone, including them, was looking forward to the main event.
Joining Polish Club’s established line up of singer/guitarist David Novak and drummer John-Henry Pajak was honorary bassist, Wayde. Their style of rock is bright, energetic and easy to listen to, almost as if their songs were grounded in the pop genre, if not for the heavy drums and screeching guitar. In 2017, Novak told Backyard Opera that Polish Club will always favour “authenticity over originality” and late last month he promised that “the one thing (they) will never do is play to a backing track”. The band is genuine and this realness translates to the audience. Every bit of emotion and energy that goes into a Polish Club song was right there in front of the Lansdowne audience. Hit songs like ‘Divided’, ‘Beeping’ and ‘Clarity’ energise the audience because they energise the band. This results in a gig that, to put it simply, was fun.
Whether it be Novak’s beaming smile as he sings, Pajak’s facetious banter in between songs or the duo’s constant reminders that Wayde was there too, the band were having fun. The standout example of this is their hit ‘Come Party’, which Pajak cheekily misspelt with a ‘u’ on the set list down by Novak’s feet. The band themselves were partying and the song was an honest and genuine musical invitation for the crowd to join in. Other standouts include a cover of Smash Mouth’s ‘Allstar’ and a rendition of the Nutbush, in which the Heaps Good Friends’ drummer returned the supporting favour by leading the crowd in a ritualistic dance procession, like a twisted version of the Hail Mary.
Last month Novak told Backyard Opera “the rule for me in my head is if it’s fun, it’ll be fun for other people and it’ll feel real.” Nothing could more succinctly encapsulate what made Polish Club’s return to Sydney on the “Get Some Clarity” tour so enjoyable.
