Visuals - Lars Roy

Words - Zach Janus

The pouring rain could not dampen the spirits of the twenty-odd punters huddled together with me at the front of The Metro Theatre an hour before doors. Only the second of December and they were already consumed by Christmas cheer. Either that or they were just super keen to witness the Polish Club play their largest gig to date. From what I could gather it was the latter. Entering the venue, the excitement ensued like it was Christmas Eve, those who showed up early roared as David Novak appeared briefly prior to the first support act taking the stage.

Keeping with the theme of Christmas in December, when the duo took the stage themselves, Novak was feeling particularly festive as he adorned a novelty Santa top and performed a special rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. Aptly dubbed the sweatiest band in Sydney the Polish Club certainly lived up to their title, as Novak had to lose the top after only one song.

They followed the cover with the opening track “Gimme Money” off their most recent EP Okie Dokie. After a spirited performance, the crowd was more than willing to meet the band’s demand by showering the act in cash. In typical Polish Club fashion, the two-piece fitted their set list out with tracks that were raw and hard hitting with a trim of the blues. Riding off the energy created by the West Thebarton, the duo kept the crowd alive with high-octane tunes from their arsenal such as “Where U Been” and a cover of the Foo Fighters classic “Monkey Wrench” before getting to slow jams like the crowd favourite “Divided”.

The Sydney crowd showed up to support the local home-grown heroes in force. The Metro was buzzing and filled to the brim by the time Novak and his counterpart John-Henry Palak were nearing the conclusion of the set. All of the duo’s iconic tracks, new and old, were met with sing-alongs which only further animated the already vigorously high-spirited pair who were practically bouncing off each other.

What can I say? Equipped with just a drumkit, a guitar and a crap ton of enthusiasm the Polish Club deliver a live experience that is unparalleled.