Datarock, Theatre of Disco @Home, Sydney (08/12/06)

Tue 12th Dec, 2006 in Gig Reviews

Home is usually the clean and non-sticky floored place you end up going on the odd Saturday night to see a bunch of bands play well past midnight into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Not this night. This night saw a large bunch of punters gathered for an early show on a Friday.

The promotional flyer for the show had ‘7pm early start’ in a large bold font but for those who were punctual there was nothing to do until nine except sit on a lounge and try to keep warm.

At nine, things got warmer due to Theatre of Disco. Their electro-dance pop with a flair or promiscuous punk was good, but it was their on stage theatrics that stole the show and made them great. The lead vocalist was clearly the protagonist of the bunch; with the other two his instrument playing side-kicks who kept it all working.

The comical styling of the lead vocalist took centre stage with topless twirling and jumping down and jigging with the folks near the front only one of the many humorous antics. They were fun. They were fab.

After some DJ played some more background music, it was time for the main attraction. Datarock strutted on stage dressed in their signature maroon tracksuits and large fashionable sunnies, tempting the ladies with just the right amount of chest hair.

From their grand entrance, one thing was quickly noted….much like their counterparts, they too were showmen. They didn’t just play their songs, they performed their songs.

After a small introductory piece, a few more track suited men appeared to give their tunes just a bit more punch and volume. New tunes were showcased first, with the crowd being told up front that ‘all the songs they wanted to hear would be played at the end.’

Datarock got a good 70% of people dancing in the first ten minutes, and the other 30% were just in awe of how good they were and then commenced dancing. Night Flight to Uranus, I Used To Dance with my Daddy and Sex Me Up were all included in the ultimate set list, and so were Computer Camp Love and Fa-Fa-Fa, which prompted a loud unified chant.

Throughout the entirety of the set Datarock had strong stage presence and an air of confidence, parading around the stage like they owned the place. Their synchronized dance moves, charisma and constant crowd embracement meant that they did.

Datarock thanked all, departed and a minute later they returned for some good old fashioned encore. Lead vocalist Fredrik lost his crowd surfing virginity after begin passed around the room like a sheet of paper, and after a song or two, the end was at a near.

The song that ended the night was the Dirty Dancing anthem Time of my Life, which caused drunken sways and brought back the loud unified chant.

Datarock left with a roar of cheers and claps accompanying them on their way out. Whoever said early nights are boring nights is one hell of a liar.