CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE.

It was just on 8:30pm and already the sweaty, bare-chested singer from Halal, How Are You? was atop a swivel chair, urging the Spectrum crowd to repel Satan from his band members.

So where do you go from there? Up – if it’s a Philly Jays gig. Even though it felt like the mad trio turned down the crazy a few notches for the launch of their EP, they still managed to clock up another winner to add to their swag of raved-about gigs.

Sydney’s Halal, How Are You? brought a gritty bag of garage-rock, sounding like a mix between Tom Waits and old-school punk. Singer Zacc snarled at the crowd as he paced amongst us and writhed on the floor during a brilliant cover of The Who’s Boris The Spider. It seemed as though his unpredictability and intensity had a few people on edge, but those who went along for the ride were delighted.

The mood shifted and the dancing lulled when Blue Mountains boys We Say Bamboulee started; with their more polished sounds commanding collective head nods instead. The synthy, intelligent cosmic rock sounded a little bit like New Order at times and Flying Lotus (a noted influence) at others. It was a serious set in a party-hard sandwich, but a seriously good one nonetheless.

There are many things to like about a Philly Jays gig. Most of all, they’re tight – really tight – and they play songs you want to sing along to. MC Bad Genius has awesomely intimidating Charles Manson eyes (quite fitting for this particular – œI’m Going To Kill You’ tour title), and there’s the pre-recorded voice that introduces songs and informs us of his crush on the sound guy.

Plus, you just know they’re going to finish on I Don’t Want To Party, complete with a crowd-on-stage finale. By the time the Philly Jays were finishing up this particular eve, the crowd’s oomph had fallen away (maybe they were still composing themselves after the first act?). As a result, the must-see finale, unfortunately, didn’t happen.

But that’s the price you pay when you set the expectation bar so high – which is exactly what Berkfinger, MC Bad Genius and Dan W Sweat have done on the Sydney gig scene. Despite some expectations remaining unmet, the entire night was frantic, quirky and fun as all hell…even after the exorcism.