The most recent Live at the Wireless might have benefited from a tad more publicity, or perhaps a clearer explanation that tickets would in fact, be available at the door. None the less, the small all-ages crowd was appreciative, and eventually willing to jump and shout like a sold out crowd, which, given the popularity of the day’s acts, it might easily have been, had more people been aware of it.

Harlequin League were up first, and were the only ones not to have trouble with their sound, or else they didn’t let on, and the audience didn’t notice. The bands were ready and the sound check completed on schedule, but it was all too loud said the man with the meter, so they had to begin again. Meanwhile, everyone waited patiently outside for the doors to open and wondered if they had the right venue.

Showing off songs from their upcoming release We Used to be Gods, Now We’re so Plain, Harlequin League were in top form for the radio audience who seemed to particularly like Itchy Heart and Bones. There were noticeable smiles shared between the boys who rocked out on stage and looked to be enjoying themselves immensely – always a turn-on for an unfamiliar audience such as this one. As has been suggested on more than one occasion, Harlequin League might be contenders for Perth’s hardest-working-band Title, but they haven’t played many all-ages gigs, and up until now won’t have had much air play, so over half of the Fly By Night audience was hearing the band for the first time. Having just announced that they will be touring support for End of Fashion, Triple J listeners will get the chance to catch them live on stage next month, and not just live at the wireless. That every member of this band is unfairly attractive wouldn’t have hurt their cause at all, and as the set intensified, the young women who had been huddled in embarrassed clumps towards the back of the club moved right up close to the stage for a better view. Four songs in, the small audience had visibly relaxed, all caught by the foot-tapping, head-bobbing bug that translates into “I really feel like dancing but I still have all my inhibitions” But some new fans had even lost those, by the time Again and Again began, because some of them were actually jumping around.

After a short break, and a false start due to things not being plugged in right, Abbe May and the Rockin’ Pneumonia got underway with the bewildering, 25-55 followed by a succession of songs that left hearts black-and-blue from May’s wrenching vocals. Despite her tiny frame, her ululations seemed effortless, she just seemed to open her mouth and set them free.

The familiar blues hooks and intricate bass lines complemented the passion in the blues woman’s voice making every song so compelling that by the end of the set, many in the room had burned with an angry fire and had tasted desolation. It is tempting to suggest that Abbe May and the Rockin’ Pneumonia make music that only adults can truly understand, and yet, Howl and Moan the single on high rotation on Triple J, touches something unnameable in everyone, speaking a truth you haven’t yet lived through, but one that you have known all your life.

After Birds of Tokyo’s shortest set change ever, Rosie Beaton climbed back on stage, looking like a contender for the Gretel Killeen Most-Random-Combination-of-Clothing Award, and after a few attempts at audience banter, introduced the main act. The Birds, nervous about recording for radio, wasted no time, beginning the set with Broken Bones, which, judging by the chorus sing-along, will be a crowd favourite as soon as crowds learn the words.

The new album is and interesting mix of radio hits and slow growing favourites with a more obvious political message than Day One but this set combined the immediate hits with older songs the band likes to play live, including EP track Stay which is guaranteed to have the punters singing along every time. They didn’t talk much, though Ian Kenny (vox) did suggest that if we were ever going to sing along, now would be a good time, since they were being recorded.

Anthonny Jackson (bass) and Adam Spark (guitar /vox) were more intensely energetic than we have seen them in the past, and clearly fame agrees with them, because they were positively radiant, and it wasn’t just the lighting. The other two members of the band are perhaps less comfortable with fame, since they were tucked away at the back of the stage and were barely lit up at all. Glenn Sarangapany has been playing keys as an unofficial member of the band for years, and Adam Weston’s drums are responsible for making so many of their songs catchy, and for driving Kenny to dance and clap exuberantly during live performances. Surely it’s time these two came into the light with the rest? Visible or not, the crowd was listening -and appreciating their work immensely. The singing got louder with each successive song and the arm waving got more frantic until the set climaxed with Kenny, Spark and the fans all bawling ‘so long see you in good time this is my goodbye, this is my farewell…’ before rounding out the afternoon with the first single from Universes; Silhouettic.

They have already sold out their first shows in Perth and Melbourne, and have added extra shows in both cities, but considering they sold out three Perth shows in a row last time, it won’t be surprising if they sell out the second Perth date as well.