Bridezilla at the Hopetoun

Now that all five members of Bridezilla have turned 18, The Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney's Surry Hills finally allowed them through their doors, and so the quintet recently played a sold-out debut there.Support came from Syndey-based Philadelphia Grand Jury (below), who were sporting 50% less beardage than the last time I saw them. With silly pseudonyms, manic staring eyes, sartorial inelegance and (kinda dumb and a bit annoying) recorded between-song segues, the trio came across as quite the strangest bunch, but, joyfully, their oddness didn't seem contrived at all, and the best thing about this bunch of local weirdos is that they have indie-nerd-pop tunes that it is impossible not to dance to.By the time Bridezilla took to the stage, the heat in the room was unbearable but it didn't stop the band giving a majestic performance. While the band was typically captivating, the ridiculous temperature became more and more a test of everyone's endurance as the night went on. Daisy had to keep stopping to wipe down her violin, frontwoman Holiday threw water over flagging audience members while Millie poured a bottle of water over her head to cool down after leaping around the stage with a bit too much vigour.

A host of new songs - including one written just the day before - sounded great, as did old favourites (and always a highlight), the instrumental Mr Young and set closer St Francine. As the crowd and band rushed outside at the end of to breathe in some much needed air, it was obvious to everyone that Bridezilla's time is almost here and, once their soon-to-be-recorded debut album is released, they'll be headlining venues much bigger than The Hopetoun (and hopefully with better air-con).