To be truthful I am not really a NYE kind of guy. I mean I appreciate the goodness that is celebrating an old year passing and a new one beginning. One with hope and happiness implied. But I am over people getting stupidly drunk and fireworks and all of that. But what if a band you love is playing on NYE and that is the only chance you have to see them. Well, hopefully they will play somewhere where there is a good vibe and a healthy attitude.

That is what the Purple Sneakers NYE House Party at the Manning Bar turned out to be. It was a decent crowd of people having fun, three stages of bands and DJs and one band to be reckoned with. Frightened Rabbit. To be honest, they were the only reason we went. I mean, we caught a bit of Spod. He was on early, but the crowd was having a good time. He is obviously talented at what he does, just probably not my sort of thing. We watched most of Yves Klein Blue. They had the crowd going, but not me. But then enters the Rabbit.

I felt sorry for them. They had just played Pyramid Rock Festival and Peats Ridge Festival within the last two days and they were obviously tired. They had to soundcheck on stage. In a hurry. Then, the sound was muddy and mediocre at best. But despite all of this they were amazing. Their songs are just that damn good. It was 40 minutes of passion and joy and the spirit of life. The opening two songs were great, but it was "Old Old Fashioned" which truly hit the spot. The gentle push and pull of this song was perfect for a singalong. Then "Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms" was astounding. It kept building and building upon delightful waves of melody. Oh to have an ear for melody like which Scott Hutchison possesses. And to have his voice and passion and sheer brilliance. He made quite a impression. Naturally "The Modern Leper" was brilliant, but it was two old songs welded into one that ripped by jaw off. "The Greys" segued perfectly into "Square 9" with lashings of awesomeness. Then the Scottish saviour of British Rock closed with the jaw dropping "Keep Yourself Warm" You know that bit when the drums crash in? Yes? Well, it worked. Please rabbits, come back and play to us again.

Set List
I Feel Better
Fast Blood
Old Old Fashioned
Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms
The Modern Leper
Head Rolls Off
The Greys>Square 9
Keep Yourself Warm