Live Review: Courtyard Club WAMFest Showcase

Once again State Theatre, WAM and RTRFM have put on an amazing courtyard experience. With the heat having dissipated slightly and some super comfy couches to dive into with a glass of punch, Lana set forth a storm in the cement complex. Her rich vocals whirl around the crowd with a sublime manner and were the perfect soundtrack to the relaxed vibe and start of the evening.

Our Man In Berlin never fail to sound strong live. Opening their set with Cirrhosis, they place themselves delicately on the perch between organic and electronic while also unveiling the sharp hooks and tropical beats of their new track Spirit Down.

Fresh off the back of another WAM nom, Catlips stepped the night's energy up a notch as she crushed a surreal '80s vibe into experimental house beats, even managing to pull people out of their seats for the first time in the night.

Electronic duo Phocal built on the back of Catlips energetic set to become the breakthrough act of the night. Pulsing familiarity with downtempo covers of Kid Cudi's Pursuit Of Happiness (Nightmare) and Jhene Aiko's Comfort Inn Ending, they put the night away as theirs with the euphoric vocals and devilish horns of Yes.

It was a heavy genre shift for Puck from the earlier stages of the night, but the swamp bass thuds of Kicking In were too addictive to ignore. Under bone rattling rhythms and ear piercing bottom end riffs, Puck put on an exhibition of heavy, with the stoner rock sounds of Liam Young's vocals creating more than enough reminiscent thoughts of Kyuss or Fu Manchu to sear the band in punters minds.

Nobody will ever be able to accuse Rag N' Bone of not experimenting with their sound; each track takes on its own rapidly emotive position in their live set that beams with energy atop the ever changing vocal of Kiera Owen. They slayed the room throughout I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore and their latest cut Last Kind Words with a style and attitude befitting of a band who managed to headline a showcase that was already exploding with local talent.