Gomez fans are loyal. The band seem to make the trip down under every year and their shows always sell out. And rightly so. A Gomez concert is quite an experience — with five studio albums they never have trouble playing a set full of hits and, like every other great live band, the English five/six-piece realise the need to be entertainers as well as performers.

Despite declining album sales and dwindling press response over the past couple of albums, Gomez are well-loved as a live act in Australia and the queue at 7.59 was testament to that. Nathan Gaunt and the Blackeyed Dogs are lucky to play to an almost packed venue, something they will be getting used to in the very near future. On the eve of new album Headlights On the Hills‘ release, Gaunt’s striking Buckley-esque vocals force the attention of everyone present. Up until now, Gaunt has been considered a musician’s musician — though he’s won eleven WAMi Awards, he’s spent years playing pub shows on the back of independent releases. But tracks like Blue Jean Baby, Whiskey and No-one Comes Close are sure to go down well when commercial radio discovers the band. Despite the focus on Headlights… the highlight of the set is closing number Fly. Breaking out of the Buckley/Harper/Johnson bluesy-pop formula, the rhythm section step up and remind us Gaunt was not the only player.

If Gaunt and his Dogs justified their billing, Gomez were about to justify their place in music. Yes, they were dropped from Virgin Records. Yes, the average review for new album How We Operate gave them about two stars. But after almost a decade in the game, this band know their audience and know it well.

Instead of flogging the entire tracklisting from their latest release, Gomez opt to play a lengthy set drawing from all five albums. Instead of opening with side one/track one from How We Operate, they go back to Shot Shot, the opening number from In Our Gun, the dub/dance/experimental album that was probably what got them dropped in the first place. And as the song comes to life 30 seconds in, there is nothing to question at all. Gomez are at their best.

During the opening hour of the set, the band alternate between the old and the new. All Too Much, See the World and Notice stand out from the new material as the band members swap their instruments around with ease. If Gomez were a cricket team, every member save drummer Olly Peacock would be classed as ‘all-rounder’. And this is what has made Gomez so interesting over the years. Ian Ball, Ben Ottewell and Tom Gray all have a spell on vocals and Paul Blackburn and Gray regularly trade bass duties while touring percussionist Dajon Everett, Gray and Ball all cover keyboards and electronics. But after all that, every song they play sounds like Gomez.

The latter half of the set is devoted mainly to the band’s biggest hits and live favourites. Get Myself Arrested and We Haven’t Turned Around attract the two loudest sing-alongs of the night, though it’s the alternate versions of the In Our Gun tracks that get the crowd moving. The electronic sounds of that album would be too hard for most bands to pull off live, but Gomez manage Ruff Stuff and In Our Gun with ease. There are two new tracks (Girlshapedlovedrug and How We Operate) midway through this bracket but transition is almost unnoticeable.

The lowlight of the night is the response from one particular fan. While every other punter enjoy themselves, one young lady takes it upon herself to remind that band of their name. As though it’s the only word in her vocabulary, she squeals “Gomezgomezgomez!” throughout the quieter moments of the set. We Haven’t Turned Around, Rhythm and Blues Alibi and In Our Gun are all ruined. As the band emerge after the obligatory encore break to play Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol, Gray shakes his head in disbelief when he realises she is about to do it again.

Thankfully, the pace picks up after Chasing Ghosts… and the token idiot’s yells are drowned out by good tunes and good vibes. Yet another In Our Gun track, Detroit Swing 66, raises the tempo while the band cap the set off with Fill My Cup and another full house sing-along of Whippin’ Picadilly.

Though we aren’t treated to the mammoth two-hour set that last year’s crowd witnessed (something you might want to attribute to Fremantle’s liquor licensing laws) the 100-minute set is well above what you’d normally expect from a touring band. But like any other band with so many great albums and so many great songs, there are always countless favourites that don’t get a look-in. There’s not enough hours in the day.