If you enjoy inappropriate amounts of sweat excretion and dressing like an indie kid-turned Mormon while listening to the sounds of experimental folk and psychedelic pop then last Friday you’d have been at the Fly by Night witnessing the fine pop deliverance from Washington and the average performance of Brooklyn-based band, Grizzly Bear.

Despite the comfortably spacious venue and overly relaxed atmosphere, most of the plastic-cup beer drinking crowd looked like nineties rockers after a Blink 182 mosh session but without the skate-shoes. If the Fly by Night’s strategic plan was to entice fans into buying copious amounts of alcohol, soft drink and even water by providing no air conditioning and only a fan conveniently placed near the entrance, it worked.

By the time Washington humbly took to the keys, the majority of whispering observers looked like their drinks had been poured on them rather than eagerly gulped down the hatch. Hidden behind dark-rimmed specs and blunt bangs, Brisbane’s Megan Washington or Washington as she’s known to Triple J listeners teased the audience with her soft and melodious tunes and husky voice.

Dressed in a simple black printed tee and dark jeans, it wasn’t only her black ballet shoes that were shifted aside as she stroked the first notes to a love song but chequered garments, blazers and bright layers of clothing worn by fans were removed as global warming rose to new heights.

This was no ordinary love song.

Washington tells the well-behaved audience a sad and creepy love story about a woman in Berlin and a gorilla. She explains how the woman’s love for the gorilla eventually lead to her death when she went to embrace it and was tragically crushed. She concludes the true story by saying “So I wrote them a love song.”

There is a murmur of laughter throughout the shy crowd as she begins the graceful but somewhat melancholic lullaby.

Washington’s dainty and almost bashful demeanour adds to the deliverance of her poetically original melodies but when an excited young gentleman yells a request for a slow song to be performed at a faster pace, he gets “You play the song fucking fast,” thrown jokingly back at him.

The tranquil state of the gathering crowd during Washington’s cover of Rufus Wainwright’s track Want was replaced with the subtle head bopping and intense fixation on the indie rock action taking place on the small crowded stage as the soothingly measured and upbeat cover of High Treason by The Boat People filled the cavernous sauna.

The happy atmosphere was heightened as Washington finished her pleasantly entertaining set with the instinctively authentic and temperate tones of How To Tame Lions and familiar tune, Clementine.

The 45 minute wait for American indie rock band Grizzly Bear to emerge on stage saw the eager tight-knit crowd’s excitement transform into impatience for some and dripping sweat for others.

First time to Australia and on tour for their third album, Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear received a warm welcome, applause and relieved sounds of anticipation from fans as the four piece band took to the stage, the lights dimmed blue and the first tune for their set, Southern Point, began.

The acoustic sounds of guitarist Daniel Rossen quietened the room and lead singer Ed Droste began the succession of vocal harmonies that built up to a climactic compilation of almost uncontrolled vocals from all members of the band. The long, slow drum beat that introduced Cheerleader combined with the compulsive strumming of the electric guitar by Rossen stimulated the engaged audience but this all came crashing down as the tune’s performance remained apathetic and almost lethargic, far from the title indication.

Lullabye from band’s second album Yellow House was quite literally, a lullaby. Listening to the five minute mishmash of random instruments, noises and the disorganised succession of echoes was enough to put anyone to sleep but watching it provided fascinating entertainment.

Bass player and vocalist, Chris Taylor, played the flute, clarinet and provided the occasional empty echo that haunted the now crowded venue whilst Droste revealed his skills on the auto harp and drummer Christopher Bear effortlessly combined percussion with the sounds of the glockenspiel.

The track Little Brother could have easily been mistaken for a two minute break by the band in which they simply tuned their instruments as an underscore of birds chirping and the sounds of nature resonated softly. Taylor’s dreary vocals in Knife were irresistible to watch as he resisted the microphone upon each note as if it were dangerously magnetic.

The somewhat more identifiable lyrics echoed in Veckatimest’s Fine For Now, a tight structure and chaotic drum solo awoke the half-sleepy crowd. They remained wide awake for the familiar catchy rock-pop tune Two Weeks as Rossen stepped around to the keys in his socks and punched out the notes that produced a new, fresh and impressive sound, a stand-out from the rest of the set. But Two Weeks was only a mild disturbance, as the wailing and repetitive vocals of Colorado and Deep Blue Sea vibrated throughout the sweaty, grungy bodies, the crowd were on the path to a deep sleep.

The uncontrolled movements from Bear on the drums and the euphoric solo that took place at the end of Ready, Able and showcased during I Live With You sounded an alarm amongst the sleepy-heads as Bear’s energetically fuelled performance bought vitality back into the set and the audience were hooked.

Foreground proved to be an uninteresting tune to watch as all members of the band either had their eyes closed or were staring off into space. This was contrasted with the rhythmical and dramatically intriguing sounds of the rapturous While You Wait For The Others which resulted in some rockers head-beating and shuffle dancing.

Upon thanking the audience and returning to stage for the encore, Droste began clapping and clicking his fingers and the audience followed his cue only to be shut down as the mellow acoustics in On a Neck, on a Spit conclude the one and a half hour set.

Although uplifting for fleeting moments, Grizzly Bear’s live performance was mellow and bleak, with little but repetitive lamenting moans and murmurs. It was disappointing to see a growing well-respected band fail to meet expectations on stage.