Last Saturday something big came to Canberra, so big that people took time out of stocking up on food from the recent Swine Flu ‘epidemic’, dropped their shopping bags funded by K-Rudd stimulus money and made their way to the University of Canberra Refectory. Sneaky Sound System was here and Canberra was buzzing with excitement.
Sneaky Sound System performed as part of their Poptronica Tour to a packed house, and if the mammoth line outside the UC wasn’t an indication, over 2,000 people made their way to the 15+ event. The Poptronica Tour followed on the heels of Sneaky’s highly successful stint with the Big Day Out festival earlier this year coinciding with the release of their sophomore effort 2.
The supporting DJ’s did a great job in building anticipation as the crowd danced away the time for the main act to start. Finally the lights lowered and the DJ allowed the music to fade out as a temporary silence filled the air only to be quickly replaced by the gathering crowd chanting for Sneaky Sound System. Thunderous applause was the only warning the group had taken the stage before they burst into their first song as the moshpit whipped themselves into a frenzy. A frenzy that rivaled any rock concert Canberra has hosted in the past.
After being elbowed in the head more times than is probably healthy, I was in a prime position to see Miss Connie in all her glory as she interacted with her band mates. Her interaction particularly with MC Double D was always fun to watch. Even if, MC Double D took entertainment to a whole new level as he drank a beer through the peep toe heels of one audience member much to the disgusted delight of the crowd.
Despite the vastly amusing on stage antics the night was all about the music. There was little time to catch your breath as one hit followed another with little to no pause. You name it, they played it. 16, Kansas City, and When We Were Young were among the crowd favourites as the audience screamed along with the upbeat lyrics.
As exciting as the new music was, it was the old tunes that revved up the audience to explosive degrees. Classics such as Goodbye, Hip Hip Hooray, and Pictures caused the crowd to surge in exhilaration. One of the standouts of the set was their cover of the Eurythmics song Sweet Dreams. Having seen the band perform this song in the past to an equally exuberant reaction it would be great if they released the song as a cover.
The concert came to an end all too quickly for the energetic crowd as they begged the band to return to the stage as they took up the chant of “one more song”; as if that would really satisfy them after the stellar performance that was delivered. Heeding the call of their fans, Sneaky reappeared to play You’re Hot, UFO, and Daft Punk’s Around the World before finally vacating the stage.
As expected, Sneaky Sound System lived up to the hype surrounding the band. They demonstrated why they are one of the biggest pop acts in the country and why we keep going to watch them every time they make an appearance in the Capital. Hopefully it won’t be too long until they’re back again.
Now excuse me while I ice my bruises and try to regain those lost brain cells… But hell, it was worth it.
to listen to their music now on 
