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The band offered no pageantry revealing themselves as the headliners of the Cambridge Hotel’s mysterious Thursday night gig.
A lighting test half an hour before they took the stage flashed their name across a backing screen.
Most punters had already guessed. Given it was free, many likely didn’t mind.
Did you take photos last night? Send your best to dominica.sanda@fairfaxmedia.com.au
What was billed as a mystery show ultimately became a celebration of their first Australian live performances in several years,
But they all received a solid dose of big room beats courtesy of an act perhaps unfairly known for their singles that began filling airwaves a decade ago.
Those were still some of the biggest moments. Wild Strawberries, released in 2007, was unleashed immediately upon the crowd.
It quickly melted away into a smooth medley of sounds designed to fill the room, washing over the crowd and slowly building its way to several peaks.
One of the most salient in the early offing was last year’s Chameleon, making the most of Shakira Marshall’s voice.
Marshall, who also releases music as Kira Divine, offered a welcome dose of stage presence in a feathery day-glo ensemble.
Her relentless dancing added to the psychedelics on show behind the band, who otherwise stuck to playing it fairly straight.
But as singles like Baby ebbed and flowed through seas of ever-changing and driving rhythms, the singles came back into focus.
Encore the night ultimately ended in a riotous few moments as No More Violence and Embrace brought down the curtain.
Dozens on shoulders, several stage invaders and a grinning band brought the latter song’s power to bear in a room that at times felt too small – except when the band seemed to push at its seams, urging it bigger.
The band grinned their way through the closing moments. They are back.
The Cambridge show was a prelude to the band’s appearances at Hot Dub Wine Machine in the Hunter this weekend.
If you’re going, you’ve got something to look forward to.