On the same night that Turnbull took over, the Canberra music scene was celebrating a night of local artists at the Phoenix Bootleg Sessions. The Phoenix is a quirky bar located across from Civic Maccas and often puts on gigs throughout the week. Their first musician was Maggie Jeffs who played chilled tunes, which were a perfect accompaniment for a casual drink on a Monday. As a solo artist, she performed well and sang meaningful original songs. Following Jeffs was Elk Locker, an emo genre band who showed a lot of free talent. There was a lot of screaming which made the lyrics a bit ambiguous, but all in all, the band had great potential with funky tunes that made the audience dance their night away.

Duck Duck Ghost were the highlight of the night. Their original tunes were funky and illustrated great potential for the indie rock band. The singer and musicians displayed high energy through all their songs as the audience danced and sang along. Notable tunes such as Hey and My Side, which you can find on Triple J Unearthed, were popular amongst the crowd. You can catch Duck Duck Ghost at up coming gigs such as the ANU Music Students Association Music Festival En Plein Air on October 9 along with other Canberra local bands such as Slow Turismo, The Steptones and Kaleid.

The final band for the evening was the punk band Malk? Don’t worry; the question mark in their title confused me, too. The trio provided a lot of great banter and entertainment, and showed a lot of talent in their original songs, which had killer riffs by the bass guitarist.

Look out for the next Phoenix Bootlegged Session to support your upcoming local and interstate artists.