Live Review: Confidence Man, Broadway Sounds

Brisbane's most confident glitter queens, skaters and '70s-flared music lovers steadily converge on The Triffid for the final Aussie leg of the Ring A' Ding Ding tour by the city's freshest electro-pop sensation, Confidence Man.

Warmed up by the eclectic tropical-house stylings and saxophone hooks of Melbourne trio Broadway Sounds, the early crowd await any sign of the veiled band members on the stage covered in metallic strips and rows upon rows of lighting rigs.

Finally, Confidence Man's musical engine room of Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie bound on stage to The Sugarhill Gang's Apache before filling the ex-aeroplane hanger with throbbing bass synth and infectious live dance beats.

After what feels like a glorious 20 minutes of funky bass lines and fun tom-work, a waft of Mary Jane from somewhere in the mosh seemingly conjures up the group's two enigmatic singers, Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, who immediately lead everyone in a dance of their charmingly corniest moves.

With a mysterious third veiled-member jumping onto another percussion rack, the set moves onto Confidence Man's first recognisable song Bubblegum, and the almost-capacity crowd happily sing along with Planet's cotton-candy lyrics.

Sharing the limelight, Bones then takes the vocal lead in a throbbing electronic jam, reminiscent of Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy, full of dancing that borders on charades to the silly-yet-sultry lyrics.

All The Way With You showcases the first of many choreographed dance routines between the pair of singers, with Planet taking to the floor for some intriguing moves mixed with Walk Like An Egyptian head-nods.

A quirky synth progression and disorientating lighting see Bones and Planet execute a smooth costume change before launching into a Fatboy Slim-inspired banger. The chorus of the unreleased track is an absolute earworm, and the singers' aeroplane-esque dance moves are attempted by most of the audience.

The Triffid is now a heaving mass of sweaty, dancing bodies — and we all celebrate as if it's midnight on NYE as Planet and Bones pop a bottle of champagne over the audience, before pouring themselves each a glass as Goodchild and McGuffie continue to lay down an upbeat blend of funk and house mixes.

The set concludes in an orgy of dancing and sassy singing to fresh single Better Sit Down Boy and their encore of an extended Boyfriend (Repeat). While there are five grooving bodies on stage, all eyes eventually follow Planet as she irresistibly combines cutting shapes like a maniac with Bones while slinging her signature monotone-yet-catchy melodies and lyrics about the underwhelming state of potential male suitors.

The rise of Brisbane's latest supergroup, made up of beloved acts The Belligerents, The Jungle Giants and Moses Gunn Collective, over the last year has been nothing short of impressive. Even though they're still relatively new on the scene, Confidence Man are destined to follow in the footsteps of similar groups like Client Liaison and become Australia's next prized dance and art-pop export. With charming personas, eye-catching synchronised dances and a knack of blending the best parts of modern dance music with infectious funk, they are exactly what their packaging says; "Being confident has never looked sexier, or sounded sharper".