Live Review: Jeremy Neale, The John Steel Singers, The Ocean Party

Aptly named the Boys Gone Wild tour, this pairing of BrisVegan kings The John Steel Singers and prince-to-be Jeremy Neale for a national tour seems like a no-brainer. Working two sides of the pop spectrum, from Can-style guitar wig-outs to Buddy Holly-esque nuggets, there's a payoff for every pop lover in this combination.

Locals The Ocean Party kick off looking a little like a dude-for-dude version of their headliners, albeit about a decade younger. Showing a surprising amount of grit not present in their singles so far, they move through tunes such as Quarter Life Crisis with ease. Lead vocal duties are traded and a remarkably controlled aesthetic maintained – think The Go-Betweens by way of Stephen Malkmus.

Drawing the short straw as 'support band' tonight are The John Steel Singers, a role they probably haven't played for quite a few years. No matter, the lads are in top form as they move through tracks taken from their underrated second record Everything's A Thread. While they originally gained notoriety as a bit of a party band (think horse-head masks and stage invasions), it's now apparent that the Singers – led, but not dominated by, Mark Everett look-alike Tim Morrissey – have honed their focus to revolve around muscular grooves and a very kosmische sensibility. Bassist Scott Bromiley is a big piece of this as his backbone on tunes such as MJ's On Fire Again and Rainbow Kraut provide a bed upon which Morrissey and co unleash their trademark four-part harmonies and guitar histrionics.

You would think that working simultaneously with unhinged collective Velociraptor and his own solo guise must leave Jeremy Neale very little time these days, yet it seems that every video clip coming out of Brisbane features a cameo from the man himself. Our very own indie-pop Jay-Z steps out tonight and he's ably backed by a band of characters who somehow manage to equal Neale in the 'cartoon superhero' stakes. We have a manic pixie dream girl keyboardist with her permanent smile; a Nick Allbrook (Pond) look-alike on bass; a gangly, spider-like dude absolutely crushing the lead guitar; and a suave-as-fuck drummer holding it down with aplomb. With all that going on, Neale has no problem distinguishing himself as he leads his gang through tracks such as Winter Was The Time and Swing Left with feverish intensity. Much looser and way further off the cuff than his touring buddies (at one point they segue into some Iron Maiden), Neale takes a leaf out of The John Steel Singers' previous book and invites the first three rows onstage for a fittingly chaotic version of In Stranger Times.