Live Review: Of Monsters & Men, Vallis Alps

The stage warmers Vallis Alps kicked off the evening with the perfect mix of live instrumentation, vocals and electronica. The duo from Canberra/Seattle greatly mesmerised the crowd, their sounds echoing beautifully across the State Theatre, thanks to its dynamic acoustics. They gave us a few originals as well as quite the cover of Bon Iver's Blood Bank. David Ansari showcased his amazing musical understanding and talent as he smoothly switched from percussion to synth to guitar to keyboard. Parissa Tosif's voice was cleverly layered throughout the performance to give her vocals strength and support. Vallis Alps ended with their tune Young sending goose bumps over the audience's bodies.

Dramatically, the lights came on as Of Monsters & Men began, their dark clothing highlighted vividly by the piercing white lights beaming out from behind them, sending an eerie feeling across the State Theatre. Last night, playing as an eight-piece, the band members were organised into two almost symmetrical levels with Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson on the lower step. They pumped out King And Lionheart as well as Empire in the first half of their set, leaving their bigger tracks for later. Several punters left their seats to dance in the aisles about four songs in, but they were soon ushered by security to the wing walkways. As Mountain Sound started two audience members made a run for the front of the stage and began dancing. This had a domino-like effect, leaving the security in a frenzy and unable to control the dancing punters racing to the front. By the time they played Little Talks everyone in the audience was out of their seats and dancing as the melodic trumpet sounds played out. Of Monsters & Men gave us a handful more songs including a fabulous encore, the incredible Icelandic group giving us a spectacular and moving performance.