Thursday night at Metros Freo proved to be a diverse expose of sounds with a genuine contemporary Australian edge to it. With the infant stadium rock sound of Brave New World (formerly Myles Vincent) the energetic, uncomplicated mainstream punk sounds of Calling All Cars and the epic artistry of headliners Birds of Tokyo, it was an eclectic, Triple J friendly taste of current Oz music trends.

Brave New World take the 80’s stadium sound from the Zeitgeist but instead of attempting to conceive some sort of UK bastard child like so many Aussies do, they opt to add a sense of classic Australian rock to their sound which does them a world of good. When listening to their efforts, one couldn’t help but reminisce of Pollyanna in the 90’s and whether they like it or not, thoughts of a Michael Hutchence led INXS cross the mind. Having said this, a mountain of 80’s rock comparisons could be made with these lads, with their sound driven by lead guitar delay and melodic power keys. The guitar issues they had midway through their set were hardly noticeable to the casual listener and no doubt provided the young band with some invaluable experience. At their best on Thursday, Brave New World played far beyond the confinements of the club, at their worst, the keys got a little too cheese-synthy, leaving one wishing they would forget these sorts of tracks in their next phase of development.

In contrast to the somewhat subdued performers in Brave New World, Calling All Cars bounded on stage for 40 minutes of straight forward energy rock. Having received the torch from Bodyjar it would seem, it was burning brightly in Freo for the Triple J regulars. The highly rotated Hey You and All The Lucky Ones were the definite highlights of their set, and vocalist Haydn Ing was absolutely stoked to be there. The 3 piece gave the crowd a good and proper firing up before leaving the stage to an enthusiastic applause. They proved themselves to be a band worth checking out next time they’re in town.

The extreme popularity of this Birds of Tokyo tour was inevitable following the release of the highly acclaimed Universes and the fact that they are one of the better live acts in the country. Metropolis Fremantle is no easy venue to sell out, but the melodic masters did so weeks in advance. This is how it should be; Birds of Tokyo tracks are absolutely stunning when mixed live. Broken Bones was a commanding opener and the crowd’s response at hearing the first high end strums of the song indicated that they were no strangers to the new album. This was confirmed in its awesome conclusion with the punters harmonising with Ian Kenny as he sang ”...you must be out of your head”. Kenny’s effortless exploration of the pitch perfect range of his tenor in his live performances never ceases to amaze. His is one of the best voices Australian rock has produced, complimented succinctly by Adam Spark’s high harmonies.

The show was mainly a promotion of the band’s most recent creations, but featured a fair selection of Day One tracks and also included 2005’s Stay. Wayside brought down the house, as it always does, with every lyric sung by the crowd as if they had grown up listening to the track, perfectly finished off with the modest Glenn Sarangapany’s epic keyboard solo earning him a roar of approval from the crowd.

Silhouettic closed the show complete with a brilliant red shining out from the light set up to cast a red mist over the stage. Kenny left the stage to the sounds of Knights of Cydonia being thrashed out by the rest of the band, until the house lights came on over two floors of proud Perth punters applauding with absolute admiration.

Gallery by shanebutler