I find that there are the Neon Lovers and the Neon Haters. I’ve always been a little Neon Indifferent, but tonight swayed me the other way. Ballart natives Neon Love won me over last night with that type of enthusiasm that flows through young bands (they only finished high school last year). They made me want to wag second period again, sneak behind the gym shed and play shaky Nirvana covers with my schoolmates.

Opening with the Bloc Party-esque I Am Vampire, lead vocalist Nip Jay does an equally convincing bat impression as he does a Kele impersonation (luckily tonight’s headliners, The Fearless Vampire Killers, are having a ciggie break out the back otherwise this set could have severely truncated). With five members swapping instruments at regular intervals, it becomes apparent that whoever is standing at the synth becomes inhibited by some immortal creature that makes them move their legs and arms and angles that maths can’t explain. They share the limelight well onstage, possibly aided by a lime coloured lead guitar. Although their set was largely dark, their more cheerful songs were evocative of Vampire Weekend – what is WITH all the supernatural tonight??

Neon Love have the musical nous, they have the confidence, they have the look (ie – more locks on their hairsprayed heads than they have fat on their spray-jeaned thighs) now they just need to find a little bit of light and dark in their grey spectrum. As wonderful as their infused punk-pop sounds, I would be able to pick more standout moments if there was a little bit of contrast within the songs themselves.

The Fearless Vampire Killers’ psychedelic self-monikered drum kit had been sitting on stage throughout both sets previous, creating an ominous tension awaiting their arrival. As the boys approached the stage, the crowd converged from the couches to the floor, and what ensued looked like something out of A Hard Day’s Night- girls in long skirts and jiffy shoes, boys with bowl cuts and suede boots, and both with the ability to love and jive.

From the first moments of One Day At A Time, The Fearless Vampire Killers slayed the audience. They had the crowd magnetised, controlling them as they pleased. We twisted to the early-60s influenced All Right Now Honey, succumbed to the swampy seduction of Evil Woman, and sweated out our $2.50 pots for nine glorious songs.

The band itself is smooth and yet crunchy like peanut butter, and will get your legs moving like you’re in anaphylactic shock. Dylan Lieberman showcased his electrifying drum solos in their cover of the Surfari’s Wipeout Al Marx and his Gretsch are the perfect synchronicity for each other to the point where you aren’t quite sure who’s playing who; Sean Ainsworth has a voice that defies definition, switching from Bob Dylan to Jack White in a matter of bars; and newcomer Rich Bradbeer of The Greasers may have only been playing with the band for a month, but already has his liquid hands so fluid over his bass that he nearly melts into his electric blue boots.

Fresh back from touring Victoria with Tame Impala, and only a week away from their NSW tour, you could feel the burgeoning excitement surrounding one of Melbourne’s next protégés. They finished 2008 with a support slot for Swedish rockers The Hives, and began 2009 with a week of being Triple J’s featured Unearthed artist. They have two more residencies left this month on the 12th and the 26th, and I’m sure that the word will get around to bring your dancing shoes to Brunswick Street on a Thursday night.

This year might be the Year of the Vampire.