Live Review: Arrested Development, Alison Wonderland, Run For Your Life

Rounding the corner from Acland into Fitzroy Street, a live band can be seen pounding away in the public bar, which is pleasing. This is Arrested Development's 20th anniversary tour, but a common response when telling friends about this show is, “The band or the TV show?” (And yes, the band sued the Fox network, eventually settling quietly for an undisclosed sum.) But the TV show still comes up first on Google these days.  

Fellow collective Run For Your Life (RFYL) kickstart the evening and immediately get us pumped. They took out the Hilltop Hoods Initiative this year and it's difficult to pin down who's who in the band since it's a rotating roster of stellar talent. N'fa represents – he's absent tonight, but powerhouse soul vocalist Syreneyiscreamy sure is in the house. Her choice of outfit – floral maxi skirt beneath an oversized t-shirt with what looks like one of Animal from The Muppets' eyes on the front, outlined with red fringing acting as lustrous lashes – is as random as the selection of musicians onstage and you'd be hard pressed to find more soulful pipes on the national scene. Bad Brazil has sultry, bubbling keys and the “What I feel for you is bad” chorus is the perfect hook. Vibin' stage right is Zulu Flow and he eventually takes a turn on the mic. When MC Remi moves centrestage, with his crazy invertebrate dancing, we're helpless to this assembly of talent. Run For Your Life directly to their next gig.       

And then Alison Wonderland takes to the decks. Arrested Development's People Everyday made the tracklisting on her Welcome To Wonderland mix-CD. No one's denying the She Can DJ finalist is hot, but also no one's stopping her from becoming a model. She can mix, but Wonderland seriously does chorey behind the decks and even her lusty looks are delivered on cue. Of course Ginuwine's Pony and Outkast's Ms Jackson are well received, but Wonderland would make the ideal house DJ for one of the watering holes on Neighbours.

Fluffy white towels are positioned around the stage together with two bottles of water apiece. We stake out our turf for Arrested Development and hope our neighbours are prepared to dodge flying elbows. Even before Speech utters a single word, the whirling dervish that is ripped African dancer Montsho Eshe creates beyond-positive vibes. Once the entire collective are up onstage Speech leads Revolution. Tasha LaRae's fluoro paint-splattered faded denim flares under sari skirt and form-fitting black top epitomise '90s fashion. It's a rowdy crowd and a dude yells out, “I love the drummer!” early on in the set. And it's true: Rasa Don (Don Norris when off stage) smashes that kit. Then a dance enthusiast stage invades for his (way less than) 15 minutes of fame. Security are quick to react and Speech scolds at song's close: “Ejecting the guy that jumped on stage to dance? Way to kill the vibe, man!” Teasers from House Of Pain's Jump Around and Jump by Kris Kross are played to provide musical context before Speech jumps in, “And then there was also this” – we're thrown bang-smack into an extended version of Mr Wendal.

When Speech tells us he wrote Tennessee's vocal hook (“Take me to another place/Take me to another land/Make me forget all that hurts me/Let me understand your plan”) after losing both his grandpa and brother within a week, all are moved beyond belief and this backstory adds resonance. We're continuously told to raise our hands in the intro. Time to put note-taking iPhone safely into pocket. This song's outro is like nothing else. And let's not even go there with LaRae's “Won't you LE-et ME-e/Won't you HE-elp ME-e…” reprise. Collective tears well up and then Speech observes, “When a bitch says it, you know it's true.” Speech facilitates alternating lines throughout Ease My Mind – Speech: “I need some time”, crowd: “To ease my mind” – to great effect. True to his name, Speech definitely has a way with words, introducing his bandmates thus: Bassist Isaiah 'Za' Williams “on the lows” and Eshe “on the dance” (she's a knockout and demonstrates some tantalising moves). A guest rapper is called to the stage and he's understated but extraordinary. When he's back-announced as Speech's son, we further lose our shit. Wonderland gyrates sidestage during People Everyday and sings along with the chorus to prove she knows the words. Mama's Always On Stage keeps the bootays shakin' and much front-row flesh is pressed before the band leave the stage.

Arrested Development take us to another place and every single band member has stage presence to spare (even if guitarist JJ Boogie looks like Nintendo's Mario come to life), which makes us very dissatisfied about most of the schlock we're forced to sit through these days. Exiting the building, a random sums it up: “What a show!”