Perth’s own Boys! Boys! Boys! started the evening with their infamous set of kitschy powerpop. The Boys have been working hard to expand their repertoire and hone their unique sound, the result being two new songs presented to the crowd gathered at Shape. You might not have noticed due to the horrendous acoustics at the venue and their distracting quirky/cute hand movements, but the females of B!B!B! are actually extremely capable vocalists. One of the new tracks, the synth-drenched “song about prawns” saw the girls abandon their usual yelps and squeals for a more languid vocal style, helping to dispel their image as a novelty band. It’s hard to say whether any of the thirty-odd early punters were converted by the night’s effort, but fans would definitely have been pleased with the obviously well-rehearsed and, as always, gleefully performed set. If all goes well for the Boys over the next few months, fans may look forward to an EP release before August.

Next on the bill, Melbourne’s Death Before Dead Gang scared the hell out of everyone by quietly taking the stage and then launching into their extremely loud and very raucous bare-bones style of music. Armed with only a guitar, amp, drum kit and some seriously attention-grabbing vocals, the duo busted their way through six short, punchy songs that demonstrated their knack with awkward yet catchy melodic patterns, brutal drumbeats, and a clear penchant for chaos and tumult in sound. Unassuming in appearance and presence, this band was exceedingly entertaining. The most interesting part of the Gang’s performance is when your brain starts to add its own filler instruments to the stripped-back set. Not that the songs would be necessarily better with the addition of other instruments, just that this particular style of music makes you really think about what you’re hearing. Not content with merely making noise for the sake of noise, the Death Before Dead Gang are a welcome change in today’s lazy indie-rock music scene. On a final note, female drummers of the world… heck, all drummers, beware of the Gang’s diminutive Natasha; she can beat the ever loving snot out of her drum kit.

Expectations were not high for Melbourne headliners, The Galvatrons. Firstly: their promo pics featuring bleached hair and oversized sunglasses on males were all too reminiscent of a certain teenage douchebag (think Myspace and house party. Yeah, him). Secondly: from checking out their official website bio, their unusually speedy transition from Australian unknowns to international sweethearts, “winning over the industry and fans a like” (sic) can only mean that they are prodigiously talented, or alternatively, very gimmicky and will cease to be the flavour of the month exactly two weeks after they release their debut album. So how did the much-hyped band hold up under the scrutiny of the suddenly packed venue? Surprisingly well, considering the crowd experienced what can only be described as a bunch of indie wankers (sorry) playing a mixture of stadium/cock rock and synth pop, complete with too many stadium gestures of pumped fists, widespread arms, and shouts of “YEAH! COME ON!!!”

The set started late despite the band members visibly wandering aimlessly in the crowd for fifteen minutes beforehand, provoking such mutterings as “They aren’t famous enough to be pulling this shit”. After their futuristic intro music blistered the ears of all present, the boys played tracks from their debut EP along with a few others scraped together to pad out a 45-minute set. Nova FM’s beloved track “_When We Were Kids_” was a popular singalong, while the rest of the songs were rather less memorable for their sound, but more for the way in which they were performed. As one barely-amused young man noted, “They’re indie music’s answer to Spinal Tap.”

Hype and bullshittery aside, the quartet appear relatively skilful with their instruments, totally in control of themselves but disturbingly all too willing to play up to their 1970s stadium rock image. There is no doubt that The Galvatrons will be popular. The question remains whether or not there is truly a place in this world for another band with plenty of stage antics and persona, but with music that simply has been done before.