Bells and Whistles @ the Zoo’s 17th birthday
Words and Pictures: Kate Scantleton
Friday December 11
The valley is hot, steamy and pumping with people and music. It’s the holiday season. Everyone is out, as there’s no time like the summertime to hit the dance floors, drink up and just be downright Aussie.
This was somewhat the case last night as the Howling Bells hit the stage with their signature sound of indie pop-rock in a swarming, exciting spectacle. The crowd was a-plenty, almost at capacity, although there was something in the air: they were all quiet and complacent in comparison to what one would expect at such a gig. 
The eeriness didn’t bother the band all that much, who worked hard to build morale amongst the audience, which was effective and built to a crescendo encore performance.
Howling Bells have it all – the hot band members, their classic, unique sound, the cult following, and the international cred. Having moved to the UK from our grand land a number of years back to kick-start their musical careers, the band have achieved exactly what they wanted to, just jumping off the Coldplay and Snow Patrol tour buses for their own headlining tour.
Last night, they managed to smash out a great set, demonstrating all that has made their name grow so quickly. Mixing beautiful, fresh lyrics and melodies with Juanita’s delightful vocals and the awesome sounds from the guys in the band, every song was mind-blowingly wondrous. The addition of fantastic stage presence from the band including little fits of dancing, some entertaining banter and a short drumming session made sure to keep the quiet crowd interested. Set favourites include Nightingale and Cities Burning Down.
In addition, it was a night of birthday celebration, as the Zoo turned the ripe old age of 17, and drummer Glenn also celebrated his birthday on this night of nights in style whilst rocking out in the only way that would seem fit.