It’s great when a band wear their influences proudly. Perhaps this ‘no bullshit’ attitude is one of the reasons why Dallas Crane have shot to the heights of popularity of late, playing to sold out shows like the one on Friday night at the Zoo. I can honestly say it’s been a while since I’ve seen the Zoo so enthusiastically packed.

Unfortunately I missed the first support act, 67 Special (one of these days I’ll get there at opening time). I asked one punter her opinion while waiting in the toilet line and she just kept repeating “They were definitely a support act…” before screaming that it was my turn to use the loo. Later, when Dallas Crane’s Pete Satchell gave a shout out to both supports, the crowd seemed to have received both with similar amounts of enthusiasm.

The Cops quite literally blew this reviewer away. Loud, animated and with their balls determinedly out (sans female member), this band are a reminder that not all retro rock has to sound like it’s been lifted from a Rolling Stones or Beatles ‘how to’ manual. Their playing was a little sloppy at first – with a couple of the drum fills and guitar sounds executed a little too lazily – but they sure tightened up as their set gained energy, and the lead singer executed some stage moves reminiscent of the lads from At The Drive-In (complete with white boy afro). Not only were their tracks fresh and more Iggy Pop than Mick Jagger, The Cops oozed style.

Those punters enjoying an interval beer quickly snapped their attention back to the stage when Dallas Crane announced their arrival with AC/DC’s Back in Black playing cheekily over the PA. And as their set progressed, it was easy to see why the band had chosen to pay homage to their fellow Aussie rockers.

Ladybird kickstarted the band’s set, and clearly all that radio airplay has earned Dallas Crane some devoted fans. You know how, at every gig or festival, there’s some intoxicated guy getting just a little too enthusiastic with the drum/guitar simulations? Well, multiply that by about 10 and you have the audience at the Zoo on Friday night. Even the sound guy was punching his fist in the air.

Second track was Iodine (also second on the new album) and the unmistakable guitar intro of Can’t Work You Out followed (this reviewer’s personal favourite). The band belted out current single Dirty Hearts with impressive accuracy, and at this point some of the more excitable fans initiated some crowd surfing which lasted through most of the set (the appropriateness of this is up for debate – no comment from this reviewer). Nonetheless the band continued performing with a marked increase in confidence as their set progressed. Past single No Through Road received a predictably vocal response from the crowd, who didn’t seem to waver in energy all night.

The second half of the set saw the more understated Unlucky Star slotted in, which sounded fantastic live with its meandering guitar solo and swaggering rhythm. Come Clean also made an appearance, as well as Wannabe. The encore held the title for most surprising song selection of the night, with a cameo appearance of Plastic Bertrand’s Ca Plane Pour Moi. If you haven’t been blessed with a listen, the song was one hit wonder released in 1977 by a French guy, with a title nobody could pronounce and one of the most irritating choruses of all time. But lo and behold, Dallas Crane pulled it off – the audience couldn’t get enough.

Perhaps it’s only recently we’ve started to see a resurgence in the ethos that rock and roll is to be danced, sung and air-drummed along to. Maybe grunge left us with a hangover of not really knowing what to do when experiencing the urge to dance in a public arena. Who knows. Luckily, Dallas Crane provide all the rock cliches such an appealing package that you can’t help but join in the defiantly overt nature of it all.

If FasterLouder.com.au was a British music mag, I’d be proclaiming Dallas Crane to be the saviours of the Australian rock gig. Instead, I’ll simply urge you to catch them, as well as The Cops, on their tour.