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Brisbane’s newest quality music venue has already hosted some of the creamiest music talent our country has to offer. But tonight was going to be one of the first real tests to the state-of-the-art sound system. Along with security and bar service efficiency of course.

The Hi-Fi was three quarters full when Calling All Cars took the stage. The crowd were vocal but shy about closeness, opting to immediately fill the perimeter and bar areas, but there was a feeling of energised promise that the shyness would subside soon enough. The Melbourne based trio are no strangers to being away from home and it showed with their thirty minute set of songs blasting the early-bird punters. The spit, sweat and in-your-face charm soon earned the previously nonchalant crowd’s respect. The short set built and built with angst and attitude. During the final track, front man Hayden Ing, engaged the mic stand in a brief battle. Needless to say, Ing was the victor sending the stand furiously into that limbotic void between stage and crowd. Like a well-oiled machine, Ing and bass man, Adam Montgomery switched positions to allow one last blast chorus to close.
– œWall of sound’ is a term that gets thrown around more than the Steeden in the dying seconds of an Origin decider, but when Oceansize took to the stage, plugged in and started peeling the month-old paint off the walls with opener Homage To A Shame, few other descriptions came to mind, apart from, well… Ocean-sized. The five piece consisted of a drummer, a bassist and 3 guitars. That’s an imposing wall of blokes, let alone sound!

The opening track was a corker. Throughout the set, Mike Vennart struck notes, chords and poses like the integral member of a boy band, without the cheese. Between jugular-bursting verses he’d step back, pull a cheeky English school-boy grin and shake his ass with toned-down-Elvis vigour. Lead guitarist Steve Durose showed off lightening hand-speed giving each track otherworldly builds and hooks. At times the third guitarist, named only Gambler, traded stings for keys helping add Muse -like mood to tracks Savant and Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs. Whether to add extra bricks to the – œwall’ or just to show off more multi-instrumentalism, Steven Hodson flagged bass for yet another six string, making it four guitars for a couple of tunes. Ornament The Last Wrongs was the perfect closer bringing all of Oceansize’s ocean-sized sounds to the fore. With the now-capacity crowd completely involved, the curtain closure came between band and fans like a hens night infidelity. Cog had their work, well and truly cut out for them.

The heavy velvet drapes parted to first reveal an epic looking drum-kit with more extras than the top-of-the-range beamer – clawing it’s platform like a shiny, nightmarish sci-fi spider – then simultaneously, mic stands at either edge of stage. With the reverb growl-ometer set to eleven, the familiar yet always confusing facial hair of Flynn Gower caught the eyes of the already erupting mass. Straight into the eerie and beautiful, Cog had arrived.

With his unmistakeable vocals soaring, Gower was the consummate captain of this vessel. However, a few tracks later, the crowd seemed to be waiting, keeping energy in reserve. With each song the intensity built but never exploded. Until Are You Interested ; then the sea turned ugly. In a good way. All the energy that had been so diligently rationed was let loose as Lucious Borich looked as though he was punishing his fancy kit for getting in the way of his sticks, and Flynn’s brother Luke Gower took the same road with his bass. From then on there was no holding back, not for the crowd and definitely not for Cog. Conducting the audience perfectly, the Sydney boys picked it up and backed it off at will. Almost serenading the audience, How Long was a killer. Getting to the business end of an hour-and-a-half set, the anticipation for the crowd favorites was as noticeable as the lack of men in pink shirts. First was the politically charged Swamp, followed by the well worn tick-tocking and whispering intro to the deeply loved What If . Flynn even gave punters the opportunity to take charge of a few chorus lines, proving the crowds early gig nerves were a distant glimmer. With electricity running through the room they turned it up just one more notch for the closer. Guitar taking the lead, Bird Of Feather kicks in and builds to about as – œgroup-hug’ as a tough rock chorus can. Continuing to encourage crowd participation, Cog eventually finish on that high, say their thank yous and humbly walk off stage. There was a short delay before the house lights got the picture, giving the impression of more to come, but eventually they wake up. Surprisingly there were few that seemed disappointed to learn that was it. Just goes to prove that encores aren’t necessary if you’ve done the job right from the outset.