Live Review: Faker, The Khans, The Shiny Brights

16 July 2012 | 10:35 am | Helen Lear

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Rock Lily's tiny stage got a good work out when Adelaide's The Shiny Brights took to it, with singer Wolfgang Marwe energetically filling the space with frantic dance moves and an impressive head of hair. The band's colourful shirts and fun music lifted the early crowd with tracks Run With Scissors, Blue Toes and new track, Tightrope, getting a solid reception.

The Khans, a band who seemed to spend half of their set fiddling with their instruments, came replete with a rent- a-crowd of over 30 family and friends who turned up to cheer along multi-instrumentalist Kat's birthday. The local crew took things up a notch with their original combination of indie, dance and reggae-inspired beats with a wealth of live and synthetic sounds. The band really owned the stage with tracks Lost Control, Arachnid and an interesting mash-up of The Black Keys' Lonely Boy and Kelis' Milkshake, although the frequent jumping between musical styles was slightly confusing.

An interesting crowd, minus The Khans' crew, welcomed the long-awaited Faker to the stage, a mish mash of avid fans and casinogoers who had wandered into the venue to see what the noise was all about. A slightly bumpy start subsided when singer Nathan Hudson put his guitar down and let loose as he does best for hit, Quarter To Three. His captivating performance was restricted only by the small stage as he tried to climb speakers that weren't really high enough to jump from, so he chose to climb and jump off the drum kit instead.

Classic tracks Hurricane, Love For Sale and Teenage Werewolf received enthusiastic singalongs and were interspersed with tracks from their latest album, Get Loved, including Dangerous and Long Forgotten Town. Mega hit, This Heart Attack, sent the crowd into another spin, followed by a minor stage invasion by two scantily dressed male fans. By the end of the set, the sweaty and exhausted band looked somewhat relieved to be finishing up and swapping sweaty instruments for cold beers.

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