WEDNESDAY night began with a mystical eye on the video screen, pulsating. Boom. Boom.
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It was inviting the packed Bar On The Hill audience to follow it deep into the psychedelic, neon world of Pnau. It was an invitation that was duly accepted.
For the next 70 minutes the University of Newcastle was treated to a dazzling performance of unbridled energy that was both sonically and visually mesmerising.
The career renaissance of Pnau over the past year has been breath-taking.
After a six-year wait for a new album following the safe 2011 record Soft Universe, many believed Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes may have left their creative peak back with their 2009 self-titled release.
Songs like Embrace, Wild Strawberries and Baby set such lofty standards, they were always going to be difficult to surpass.
With Nick Littlemore’s brother Sam now an official member, Pnau arguably topped the excitement of their earlier material on last year’s Changa, with songs like Chameleon, Go Bang and Young Melody.
Undoubtedly a major reason for Pnau’s revival is Kira Divine. The American-Guyanese singer’s vocal performances on Changa gave the record a thrilling new sound.
As a live performer Divine has also taken Pnau in an exciting new direction. She danced like an aerobics instructor after their fifth cup of coffee.
Dressed in a tight and colourful body suit and mask, Divine was a constant whirl of pumping arms, knee lifts and thrusting hips.
The only negative was the pre-programmed backing vocals made Divine’s live voice difficult to decipher.
More than most acts, the visual aspect is vitally important to Pnau.
Nick Littlemore promised the Newcastle Herald several weeks ago that the Changa national tour would unveil Pnau’s most elaborate light show to date.
He wasn’t lying. All the band members walked onto stage with neon green, pink and purple masks inspired by Aztec culture, and Littlemore wore a white trench coat illuminated by tiny lights.
For the second song Nothing In The World, a sea of green lazer beams fired out into the crowd, creating a futuristic visual.
It’s a rarity to see an established act rely heavily on their new material, but Pnau obviously have full faith in Changa.
And understandably so. The crowd lapped up every moment as Pnau performed almost every track of their latest album.
Littlemore also introduced a new song, Sliding Doors, which he announced would be released in the next five months.
The track was so fresh Littlemore even needed to carry a sheet of the lyrics as he roamed the stage with the microphone.
It’s slightly slower and more soulful than their Changa material, but sounds like another winner for Pnau.
There was still plenty of older favourites for the crowd to enjoy.
While they strayed away from their Soft Universe tracks, classic songs like Wild Strawberries, No More Violence, Baby, Come Together, With You Forever and Embrace, sung by Divine, were all dusted off.
As the night wore on more and more girls popped up on a friend’s shoulders, searching for a clear view.
At first the bouncers cut them down like an arborist, but by the time Pnau hit Young Melody in the encore the forest had grown out of control.
Chameleon was Pnau’s comeback single in 2016, which eventually snatched No.11 in the triple j Hottest 100, peaked at No.4 on the Australian charts and claimed an ARIA award for best dance release.
The tribal dance hit closed the night sending the crowd home in raptures.
The second coming of Pnau shows no signs of abating.