The theatre was packed to the rafters (literally, there weren't any seats left) with... girls. Ranging in age from 6 to 26, averaging mid-late teens, with the odd brother, boyfriend, or bemused-looking father thrown in for effect, the entire theatre was packed with oestrogen.
So naturally, when the support band Flicks emerged onto the stage, the words, "squee!" and, "phwoar!" were emitted from various crowd members in appreciation of the four young lads from Brisbane.
The band, formerly known as 52 Flicks, ripped through an energetic set of preppy pop punk tunes with fun electronic riffs and annoyingly catchy (and funny) songs, including 4am, Morning Glory (yes, it is about the obvious) and new single Haley [sic] (an ode to Paramore's Hayley Williams). The highlight, however, was definitely the Flicks-flavoured cover of Owl City's hit Fireflies - which you can check out on YouTube - prompting a hearty singalong from the crowd, a mini-moshpit from the first five rows, and a fitting lead-up to the headliners...
Short Stack may not have been performing for as long as some bands doing the rounds at the moment, but boy do they put on a good show.
Their set isn't too flashy (a couple of inflatable dinosaurs here, a gigantic Short Stack skull logo there), their lighting suggests "rock show" with a little "we might've pinched a few strip lights off the Savage Garden boys but they're well over" thrown in and it almost looked like bassist Andy Clemmensen was recycling Bradie's shirt from the press tour, costume-wise.
There was a moment of unadulterated panic for some audience members (myself and bemused dad behind me, for starters) when guitarist/vocalist Shaun Diviney noticed the empty seats left by the front rows, who were now glued to the front of the stage, and invited fans in the back rows to "come down and fill these empty seats!"
Cue a tidal wave of excited hormonal girls running down towards the stage via the theatre seats, essentially doubling the capacity of the front half of the theatre. A number of fans who were standing went to sit in their seats only to find fans from the back rows actually standing on them!
Despite giving the ushers, security and some of us audience members a mild heart attack, Shaun put on a fantastic show as the flamboyant and lively rock star.
The band wooed fans with a tight and comprehensive set, including The Back of My Head, One Step Closer, Princess and latest single Sweet December, however it was drummer Bradie Webb's blistering drum solo with video-game sound effects that was a personal highlight of the entire show.
Going out on a high, and not to leave fans disappointed, the boys finished with an encore of their smash hits Shimmy A Go Go and Sway Sway Baby, inciting a crowd sing-a-long so loud that Shaun could not be heard singing either chorus.
Stack is the New Black, and Short Stack is definitely in fashion if the Townsville show was anything to go by. SMAC Magazine wishes the boys all the best for the rest of their tour, and would like to encourage all of the Andy fans out there to visit the CLEO web site and vote for Andy in CLEO's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors 2010 competition - good luck Andy!
Words by Jade Kennedy
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