It's a picturesque Brisbane evening at Riverstage, and there's plenty of buzz in the air as groups of young music lovers flood into the CBD amphitheatre. For the first time in six years, beloved British indietronic marsupials The Wombats are headlining a show in the Sunshine State's capital, and it's possibly the most in-demand Groovin The Moo sideshow of 2017.

Kicking off the celebrations for the UK trio's tenth anniversary of their timeless debut album A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation are local indie-rock stalwarts The Jungle Giants. The sizable crowd quickly warms to the quirky quartet, and the mosh erupts with every crescendo in I Am What You Want Me To Be, Mr Polite and She's A Riot. Frontman Sam Hales' stage charisma and vocal performance are absorbing, and it only seems fitting to introduce us to what may be their next single while playing in front of a huge hometown audience. If the single is any indication, their third studio album is going to be a winner, as is the set's closing song Feel The Way I Do. 

In what was to be the only truly captivating moment of their performance, main support act Milky Chance begins their set by magically appearing on stage from a cloud of purple smoke. The German outfit, led by the distinctive raspy vocals of Clemens Rehbein, entrance most in the amphitheatre with their saccharine, bongo-infused folk tunes. While their songwriting isn't adventurous, it's impossible not to be swept up in their Latin-pop beats, wispy melodies, harmonica embellishments, and simple, driving guitar work. Backed by four giant spheres with enough lighting power for a small airport, the group's best-known tracks Cocoon and Stolen Dance evoke plenty of grooving, and thousands of female voices drown out Rehbein's in the choruses.

After a significant change in onstage equipment, suddenly darkened lights are met with thousands of excited yelps and whistles. The crowd's excitement reaches fever pitch as the three men of the hour finally race on stage: enigmatic frontman Matthew 'Murph' Murphy, ridiculously handsome drummer Dan Haggis and Norwegian-born pocket-rocket Tord Overland Knudsen.

Not wasting a second, The Wombats launch into their debut album with Kill The Director and Moving To New York. The album may be a decade old, but The Wombats' now slightly aged members chew through the chaotic indie-rock arrangements and perfect backing harmonies with the same vigour and enthusiasm they possessed in the mid-2000s.

The vibe quickly turns from teenage angst to a club dancefloor, as Murph teasingly quips, "I wanna see your best slutdrop Riverstage!" before the beautifully retro synthesiser tones of 1996 ring across the amphitheatre. The club vibe continues with a singalong to the mostly electronic Give Me A Try, which sees each member impressively switch between instruments rather than rely on a backing track. 

A morbid sounding synth progression leads into Jump Into The Fog, which is ironically met with euphoria by the heaving mosh pit. Bassist Knudsen jumps around the stage like a kid in a candy store, while Murph potters around with his synths when he's not conducting his adoring Brisbane choir through the choruses. The frenetic speed of The English Summer sees Murph break out in sweat, but his melodies and falsettos remarkably remain strong amid the angsty and overdriven soundscape.

After a well-earned drink break, the trio dive into the spine of A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, and showcase their sublime backing harmonies and humorous lyricism with Here Comes The Anxiety, Lost In The Post, and My First Wedding, the last unfortunately seeming to have lost its shine live.

The nostalgia factor of these tracks isn't lost on The Wombats, with Murph and Haggis introducing Backfire At the Disco with, "We haven't played this song in eight years - we wrote this when we were 19... so let's just pin our ears back and let's just get through it together, alright?" They shouldn't have worried though, as the mosh pit became a frenzy of arms as thousands sang the song's "woah-ah-woo-woos".

Compared to the reliance on a backing track for Your Body Is A Weapon and Greek Tragedy, the simplistic instrumentation and hopeless-romantic lyricism of Little Miss Pipedream immediately stun the Riverstage crowd into silence. The gorgeous backing harmonies and the plinking, glockenspiel synth melody are enchanting, creating an atmosphere in which thousands of strangers are hoping Murph eventually wins over the heart of his own Miss Pipedream.

And as if a switch was flipped, Techno Fan and Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves), accompanied by a wicked light show, again transform the Riverstage into a pounding nightclub dancefloor.

In a triumphant finale, Murph thanks the loving crowd - "see you on the dark side" - as he unleashes the incredibly bouncy riff of Let's Dance To Joy Division. Smoke cannons, confetti, a monster jump splits from Knudsen, and an explosive grungy post-song jam cap off a set that leaves everyone agreeing with the lyrics ringing fresh in their ears, "we're so happy".