Waywards in Sydney’s Newtown was treated to a night of the best up-and-coming bands, helmed by The Million for their single launch of “Last Call”.

The crowd packed in for one of the first standing gigs back, with The Million frontman Jacob Thomas warning me that their crowd do mosh, despite their music being on the sweeter side of the spectrum.

Kicking off the night was The Flowers who have been bouncing around the Sydney circuit, climbing their way up rosters. Their set was tight and enthusiastic and undeterred by the people filtering in and taking up a perch around the perimeter of the space.

Bread Club stepped up next, bringing some funky bass lines and serious showmanship onto the stage. The three-piece brought the audience out of their seats and grooving along on the dance floor with the night beginning to heat up for the main event.

With the venue at full capacity, it was time for The Million to play their first stand-up show in over a year. And the idea wasn’t lost on the boys – in fact, they expertly wove recurring punchlines through their stage banter with a hook of “Life Is A Highway” as though it was a proper stand-up set.

They featured their most well-known tracks from “Somebody Better” to “Rebound”, covers like Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape” and teased unreleased tracks that will have you itching for more (stay tuned for “Speed Dial”).

But the main event was the single for which the tour was organised to celebrate, “Last Call”, which was in fact not the last call of the night. Despite it being the perfect way to end a set, the boys one-upped themselves and rounded out their music-turned-comedy night with another lick of “Life Is A Highway”, only this time playing the song in its entirety to everyone’s surprise and absolute encouragement.

Jacob was indeed right: his audience knows how to mosh with him at one point urging those who don’t want to get annihilated to move to the edges of the room.

The night was reinvigorating not only as an audience member but for the broader live music scene and of course for the acts themselves.

Keep up to date with The Million HERE.

This article was originally published by The AU Review.

Live Review: The Million