The Firebird, where many bands go to show St. Louis their talent, was home to Hands Like Houses fans and the band themselves on Sunday Jan. 11. The Australian rock band made it easy to forget that it was raining outside, and by the time the show ended, it didn’t even matter.

At 6:30, half an hour after doors opened, the show began. Bands native to St. Louis Struck By Sound, Midnight Hour, Show Me and Welcome Home, tore the place apart. Each with a different sound, they made the three and a half hour wait for the headliner bearable. While trying to avoid moshers (and failing), it became easy to make it to front row. Too Close to Touch, the band accompanying Hands Like Houses on the short US run of touring, was the last to hit the stage before Hands Like Houses.

Opening the show with “Wisteria,” Hands Like Houses finally hit the stage around 10 p.m. Having never been close enough to a stage to sit on it before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Being so near to the amplifiers made it difficult to hear the lyrics, but it didn’t make the concert any less enjoyable.

Along with songs from their debut and second albums “Ground Dweller” and “Unimagine,” Hands Like Houses even performed a cover of Natalie Imbruglias “Torn,” which is featured on “Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2.”

Although their set of 10 songs was shorter than that of most of the headlining bands I’ve seen, it didn’t disappoint. Even though I would have liked to hear “One Hundred,” the rest of the songs made up for it.

Nothing is quite as exhilarating as singing along with one of your favorite bands vocalist, but being close enough to make eye contact while doing so made it even better. Near the end of the set, Hands Like Houses performed “No Parallels,” one of the songs I had been waiting to hear all night. And it was just as good as I had expected.

The noise in the room continued on from the second they stepped onto the stage until the second they stepped off of it. Next time Hands Like Houses performs in St. Louis, I hope they get to see an even bigger a packed room. A band with so much talent and such a great stage presence is deserving of it. As a fairly young band, they’ve earned the right to every bit of attention possible.