RUBY Fields began 2019 by placing No.9 in Triple J's Hottest 100. At a drunken house party near Wollongong, her home lost power and the radio went dead.
When everything resumed, her song Dinosaurs was playing. At first she thought it was a joke, but then it became clear the 21-year-old had landed in the countdown's coveted top 10.
Off the back of that success Fields and her band closed out 2019 with a huge regional tour, rolling into the Cambridge Hotel. Fields is no stranger, having played everywhere from 48 Watt Street to two sold-out shows at the Newcastle Hotel earlier this year.
The Cambridge also managed to sell out, and onstage the indie-rocker announced it was her largest sold-out headline show.
Support bands Perve Endings and Loser were class acts, but fans kept beckoning for selfies with Fields who was off on the sidelines watching the bands.
Once Fields hit the stage, she kicked off with Fairly Lame Fairly Tame, and quickly followed with I Want, Trouble and P Plates. Any one of them could've been an opener.
They all have anthemic power and urgency to them, each with their own breezy pop melody. Much like The Hoodoo Gurus covering early Beatles, with an Aussie girl they found in a teenage talent quest.
Trouble is sure to poll high in this year's Hottest 100. However, the highlights were Libby's Pink Car and Ritalin, which were played back to back and taken from her debut EP Your Dad's Opinion For Dinner.
Feet lurched off shoulders and crowd surfers plunged into the air for the fast-paced chorus of P Plates and Ritalin, hurling Fields' sometimes mundane, yet relatable, lyrics back to her.
For an artist with only two EPs, the entire set felt like a greatest hits collection. By the end of the show the room had turned into a sweatbox and the side doors were opened.
To close out the 13-song set the grungy jangle of Climate mellowed out into Dinosaurs, resulting in a huge singalong and the whole venue erupted into a frenzy of energy.
If countless sold-out shows wasn't enough proof, this gig reminded everyone that Newcastle loves Ruby Fields.
