With a late starting time of 10:30pm, The Panda Band did a great job of keeping the crowd awake. Getting their well-known song ‘Sleepy Little Death Toll Town’ out of the way early, they were free to show the crowd their musical skills. The only down side to their support set was due to them being unable to perform a soundcheck earlier in the day. This led to some problems with sound, particularly from the bass guitar.

The Sleepy Jackson hit the stage at 11:30pm and perhaps an earlier start would have seen a larger turn out. A film of their travel from Adelaide Airport to the UniBar played accompanied by whirring computer generated sounds. It was an effective way to start the show, increasing the anticipation of the audience. As the band members walked on stage, singer Luke Steele photographed the crowd with a Poloroid camera, throwing the photographs for lucky audience members to keep as a souveneir. First song ‘Devil Was In My Yard’ set the pace for the night and had the crowd dancing and cheering wildly. The band were all fantastic and had their individual personalities on display. Working well as a unified band unit. It was like being in The Sleepy Jackson’s own universe. Impossible not too get excited by each new song and each stage move. Steele was happy to talk to the audience and seemed so comfortable in front of the crowd. It was mesmerising to watch him perform. ‘God Lead Your Soul’ was introduced as being written about managers and those who like to spread rumours about the singer’s family. ‘Good Dancers’ seemed to be a crowd favourite and had all on their feet and singing along. Each song ended in a groovy jam, often running into the next song without a break for applause. Bass player Dave Symes looked fantastic on stage and guitarist Lee Jones added a dynamic presence to the night. In between each song break was the tendency to fill the silence computer samples. At times it got repetitive and left the audience feeling bored at times. Also the acoustic guitar numbers by Steele gave opportunity for the crowd to chat loudly, losing concentration on what was happening onstage.The last song of the night saw part of the stage fall over, resulting in Luke Steele throwing the mic stand and one of the fake plants that decorated the stage. It was very dramatic and an interesting end to the set. No encore was called for by the audience but it didn’t matter. The Sleepy Jackson had given the audience a stunning show. Full of drama, style and great music. I think they will only continue getting better and better.

The Sleepy Jackson Photo Gallery