Concrete Playground

If you didn't get tickets to Vampire Weekend on this same night, you could divert yourself down the stairs at the OAF and catch Sydneysiders The Model School in the gallery bar for free. They are launching their second album called Memory Walls, which sees them carrying on their ramshackle alt/pop with major head nods to Beck (almost too much so sometimes) and hat tips to pop artists as diverse as The Beach Boys and Bowie.

Brendan Wixted is the curly headed honcho of the band, the main songwriter and wheels of the operation, and he pens some nice pop hooks with skewif lyrics over the top. Its Hard To Dance When Your Legs Are On Fire is a good example of his music, a strummy straight forward acoustic guitar drives the song and Wixted drawls affably over the top with lyrics that are obtuse and a melody that is almost drab, whilst casios and other bleeps and beeps are splashed around the background.

Support comes from Melbourne's Plastic Palace Alice. These guys were everywhere for a while a few years ago, their song Empire Falls was unavoidable and their live show full of energy and charm. They disappeared for a while and after a few lineup changes, are back. So, coupled with their friends The Model School, it should be well worth the trip to Darlo for this free show.