Find the pictures from this weeknight treat right here on FL.

It’s a quiet school night in the Valley, and all that can be heard are the faint sounds of duelling tumbleweeds and sneering remarks from our southern cousins about how Brisbane shuts down on weeknights. Little do they know, however, that the good stuff happens in secret caverns and sweet nooks and crannies, far from their uncultured prying eyes. We locals get it, and it saw us flocking to The Troubadour on a Tuesday night to catch a bevy of eclectic local acts strutting their stuff.

First up was sort-of local Stu Larsen sampling his acoustic wares, this time bolstering his solo effort with partner Lydia Cole in a delicious duet arrangement. Just fresh from a national tour, Larsen seemed on form and carried great harmonies with the honey-voiced Cole throughout the set. With not a comfy couch or laze-e-boy spare, the audience was serenaded with the almost lullaby qualities of Larsen’s song-writing married up in this fashion – Gave Me Away from last year’s Lies Will Keep You Out was a standout.

The steadily filling room transformed itself from an intimate sit down gig to a jumpy, almost dance-hall feel with the arrival of Tin Can Radio. Known for their kick-arse live sets, the lads didn’t disappoint in this environment. 80s AM-radio pop led by smooth synths, blips and beeps which segued into folk, rock, dub and even a dash of reggae. They are a real kitchen-sink type aural sensation, and they seem to exist to shatter boundaries – and that they do with some skill.

Turn the tables once again, and main act Montpelier offer yet more points of difference on the musical smorgasbord of the evening. Fresh from a recording stint in Hollyweird, the Brisbane four-piece are a tight and polished pop-rock outfit seemingly from another time and place. This was no polyester-shirt, horn-rimmed glasses, shoe-gazing affair, but unadulterated melodic soaring, backed by some superb uplifting harmonising. Guitarist Dave Butler kicked off the vocal duties, but spent most of the evening wonderfully harmonising below bassist Greg Chiapello’s heart-on-the-sleeve singing style. Drummer John Pickering’s staccato rhythms provided a necessary counter-point early on and significantly lightened the mood in some of the darker moments. Nearing the set’s end, new singles The Rafters and Fireworks were treated to a slight re-working with Larsen joining them onstage for a little extra guitar and vocal kick. With keyboardist Andrew Stone strapping on a piano accordion, the two offerings were clear indications of this band’s ambitions to make memorable, fit-for-the-moment epic rock. The apt rise and fall of Last Boat Out To See You, with its nautical theme and interesting back-story, perfectly illustrated the intelligence and warmth Montpelier bring to their sound and whetted the appetite for more things to come.