It’s a particularly busy night in the Brisbane tonight for the solo male artists of the world. Jamie T is rocking the HiFi, Paul Dempsey’s wooing the Troubadour and here at The Zoo the crowd waits in anticipation for Liam Finn and Eliza-Jane (EJ) Barnes. It’s uncertain if those other shows are the reason or not, but it’s a little disappointing to see The Zoo at only half capacity tonight because the talent on displays here tonight is really something special.

Melburnian Matt Walters is first on stage presenting his take on the acoustic guitar-strumming singer-songwriter. The first two songs he plays go down well, his voice and range impressive. He’s at once both weirdly awkward – saying “I know my hair looks like shit tonight,” – and uncannily confident in his own songwriting, delivering an utterly awful song he describes as being “about a priest.” This mid-set song denunciating faith derails the rest of his set, which is disappointing after such a promising beginning.

Leader Cheetah hit the stage almost immediately after Walters finishes his set and launch into a song that displays their songwriting chops. What’s evident is Leader Cheetah are a great band and the audience seems to genuinely appreciate what they’ve got to offer – a surprisingly well executed brand of country inflected indie rock. The points of interest here are lead singer Dan Crannitch – œs voice which sounds more than a little like a gruffer Neil Young and his simple vocal melodies and the impressive drumming of drummer Joel Crannitche. The scope of the songs is good and the subtle changes in rhythm keep the crowd happy and energised.

Finn and EJ walk on stage to rousing applause and start the set with Plane Crash from the newly released EP Champagne And Seashells, and the track is a revelation. Finn is dynamic, charismatic and brilliant. The discord between Finn’s recorded work and his live show is genuinely astounding. When Finn plays the EP’s stand out track, Long Way To Go, he sends it stratospheric, molding its funky start and simple melody into something far more special than listening at home suggests. Everyone smiles while EJ plays along with a kazoo. With a few of the EP tracks out of the way, Finn and EJ launch into Wise Man and Fire In Your Belly from I’ll Be Lightning. Both tracks get lovely renditions, each track benefiting from the texture Finn creates with the continuous looping of his guitar parts. One of the draws to a Finn show is his willingness and ability to improvise. When someone in the audience yells out something about “Splash” Finn jumps on the drums and he and EJ start playing an impromptu improvised mini-song about “EJ Splash.” While not being particularly good, it’s fun and makes the show feel spontaneous. Better To Be reveals itself to be quite the live rocker with a killer guitar solo, and Energy Spent was like watching the birth of a major talent.

The middle of the set lulls slightly with I’ll Be Lightning, Gather to The Chapel and On Your Side, the latter being notable as the only track on which EJ sings lead vocals. It goes down well, but to be honest, no one is really here to watch EJ. While she compliments Finn nicely with her mini-drum kit set-up and looped backup vocals, one can’t help but wonder what the show might be like without her there. The two finish the set with Lead Balloon and set highlight Second Chance. Finn’s rendition of the song, complete with his spastic drumming, is the embodiment of his live show and really gets the crowd dancing.

Finn and EJ return for an encore and play a song on which Finn’s younger brother plays drums, after which Finn and Walters freestyle rap battle. It’s weird to say the least and this reviewer wishes it never happened. Finn finishes the set off in style with Remember When, one of I’ll Be Lightning – œs standout tracks. It’s hard to imagine anyone would have left this gig without being utterly mesmerised by Finn.