The boys in Philadelphia Grand Jury would have given a heart-rate monitor a hefty work-out on Saturday night. They ignited the stage with a burst of fun energy on the Melbourne leg of their ‘I’m Going To Kill You’ tour. It was a younger crowd than usual for the venue. Their loud, punchy beats elicited a predictable level of enthusiasm from the fresh-faced and intoxicated crowd.

In theme with their tightly rehearsed music, they had a pre-recorded track to introduce themselves and their songs. But this was in no way a sterile affair, as it only meant that all their efforts were focused on their performance: and they did not take their role as entertainers lightly.

As they kicked off their high-voltage set with No You Don’t I was mesmerized by Dan W Sweat on the drums whose head was bouncing around like one of those ornamental bobbing head dogs you see on car dash boards, but after about four espressos. At one point MC Bad Genius pointed to Dan W Sweat with one steady, outstretched arm and index finger as if to say, oh yes, he loves it!

When Your Boyfriend Comes Back To Town was a cheeky, colourful track and at one point Bad Genius was staring so intensely at the crowd that an audience member yelled ‘get off the coke’. A comment that expressed to me the fan was definitely in awe of Bad Genius’ unwavering and captivating engagement with the crowd.

Going to The Casino had all the punk attitude and pop melody you could wish for in a track and was of course a favourite with the fans who sung along like little children to a beloved nursery rhyme. Lyrics by Berkfinger and ‘hey hey’s’ from Bad Genius were like the staccato incantations of a cheer squad spurring their team on to win gold. Genius had the disciplined rigidity of someone being held at gunpoint as he barked his part into the microphone, a rare moment of stillness from this electrified entertainer. Meanwhile W Sweat was smiling with his tongue out like a happy puppy in a fast car.

Wet Winter Holiday featured some nice ‘sha la la la las’ from W Sweat. Genius treated us to some animated strumming with his arm rolling around on its shoulder joint like a windmill. In I’m Going To Kill You, Berkfinger was all eyebrows and became more and more expressive as the ‘ooos’ reached a crescendo.

Their songs seem to be addressed to someone rather than about someone and have an early 90s punk pop feel similar to They Might Be Giants. Despite their exertions, they do emit a certain relaxed confidence in their performance.

For their last song I Don’t Want To Party the singer and bassist swapped to different sides of the stage. They finished the song, or so it seemed, then continued, milking their last moments on stage and giving the audience fuel for fire to keep them wound-up for the rest of their night with a continuation of the song as if the end of it was on repeat.

Bad Genius was described as a ‘grizzly bear slash lumberjack’ over the PA earlier and you could really see the resemblance when he took the guitar from Berkfinger, placed it next to the amp for some dizzying reverb, then took off his belt and used it to whip the guitar like you would a poisonous snake: with adrenalin fuelled focus.

Berkfinger and Genius left stage, Berkfinger still singing from side-stage, and Dan W Sweat played out the drum beat for another few bars to the delighted squeals of the girls up the front. Once he left the stage and Berkfinger stopped singing the amp continued to ring out until, after a little while, Berkfinger returned to stage and switched it off to a round of applause and whoops from the crowd.

The neat voice recording made for a seamless set where each musician managed to keep it tight despite grappling with the desire to just jump up and down like a child on a jumping castle. They were catchy, up-tempo and easy to engage with and nothing too serious for a room full of young, beer soaked hormones.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE