Hot Hot Heat are brash and rough live. The guitars were dirty, the synth and keys asserted themselves forcefully and singer Steve Bays danced out of his skin…tight jeans. Predictably, but also satisfyingly, the hits were the highlights. Bandages, Goodnight and particularly the soaring Middle Of Nowhere blitzed in flurries of hooks and impressive drumming from Monster, who it appears left The Muppets to join Hot Hot Heat.

Indie kings Modest Mouse were a force unto themselves. The six men marched onstage, hesitated briefly, and then exploded into noisy pop, leaving their opening act’s sound seeming feeble by comparison. Following the lead of their latest album, they banged and clanged around to open and then gave us the wonderful Dashboard, which was like throwing Richard Dreyfuss to Jaws ten minutes into the movie. It was something everyone wanted to see, and the frenzy was manic, but the show was perhaps tainted by letting the cat out of the bag so early.

Isaac “Crazy Eyes” Brock performed the hell out of his songs, injecting them with a newfound sense of outrage and intensity. He spat out lyrics, tossed around guitar and microphone and stared down the audience in between carving out his signature licks. Johnny Marr was as cool as one would expect a legendary Smith to be, and his laidback and precise delivery was a source of constancy for the band.

Recorded, Modest Mouse present a layered, complex labour of love. Live, they show how it works. Dual percussionists, multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso and a commitment to swapping instruments as frequently as Ryan Adams yells at a sound techie combine with finesse. One sensed that they knew this, as they took almost every opportunity to extend a song into a rambling jam. This was great the first few times, but as the law of diminishing marginal returns dictates, each successive sonic journey was rendered increasingly redundant.

Steamrolling their way through their hefty catalogue, the humble rodents laid down some heavy funk with Bury Me With It, bounced to the melody of We’ve Got Everything and blasted into Dramamine. Float On had the crowd bristling with excitement, while the sprawling Spitting Venom was a multi-fronted assault – and frankly a little exhausting. The enduring focus of Modest Mouse translated into thrilling, and draining, rock and roll.

Despite a bloody good show, I still would have loved to hear Missed The Boat, and I know I wasn’t the only one. Next week James Mercer, who features on the track, is in Sydney, so maybe our southern brothers will be treated to what we weren’t. Just putting it out there. That would be really cool.