Live Review: Seekae, Kangaroo Skull, Thomas William

31 August 2012 | 4:12 pm | Dylan Stewart

It's a school night, and the opening support act Thomas William looks young enough to be back in the classroom tomorrow. Clean-shaven and decked out in a red cardigan, he mans the stage dutifully, his blend of samples and beats a perfect warm up to the main event. The small crowd grows throughout his set and by the end there is enough of a gathering in the Corner bandroom to give this up-and-comer a warm round of applause.

Before Kangaroo Skull come on stage, the room is filled wall to wall with smoke. The unmistakable scent of dry ice inches its way into every pore of every person in the room, and by the time there's any sound from the stage it's literally impossible to see further than a metre away. Then the drum beat hits. Then the strobe light hits. And for the next 15 minutes the crowd is subjected to a sensual battering the likes of which has surely not been seen in these parts for some time. After the lights soften, the Brisbane duo's heady stream of thumping beats continues, and if it were 3am on a Saturday night, this would be heaven.

Sydney's Seekae have built up a massive local following over the past six months, and tonight's show – after their first gig sold out – is testament to that fact. The three-piece's music is both haunting and light, percussive yet deep and melodious.

A strong emphasis is put on the set's lighting and with the careful placement of the drum riser, different strobe lights that hang prostrate from the ceiling, and the stage lights themselves, this focus has paid off. As the group head through their back catalogue, including their latest album, +DOME, and its lead single, Bloodbank, (song of the year? Just maybe), there are heads bopping and toes tapping all over the joint. A short and blistering encore later and Seekae are gone, off to change the lives of some other lucky bastards.

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