Live Review: Client Liaison, Total Giovanni

1 May 2014 | 3:52 pm | Benjamin Meyer

Their music is tight, catchy and their parody of Australian culture resonates.

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Total Giovanni – decked out in beige trench coats, a variety of sailor hats and  Eurotrash swagger so kitsch that it has to be genuine – warm up the crowd with their set of house- and disco-inspired tracks. The beats are boppy and the band's dance moves are clunky (in an endearing way). The crowd is more than happy to shuffle along to the grooves. Their self-confessed “most-danceable song” gets everyone jumping and they close out their set with Can't Control My Love. It's difficult to gauge how seriously to take Total Giovanni's interpretation on the whole band thing – it feels as though it's all been thrashed out behind the scenes of some law revue. However, they're a fitting support for the main act and a band to watch as their live show and music matures.

Client Liaison arrive onstage ready to take willing participants back to where this great nation's national identity was formed: the corporate boardrooms of the late 1980s. On their first national tour, and having already added two extra shows in Melbourne alone, Client Liaison open proceedings and End Of The Earth features kookaburra and didgeridoo samples. By Hotel Stay the crowd is well and truly pumped and dancing. Harvey Miller AO regales the crowd with banter such as, “If we could make every moment unforgettable, we would.” Stage projections pay homage to all of Client Liaison's influences, namely Diners Club, Sizzler and Ansett Australia. As the set progresses, Miller slowly loses various layers of clothing and Monte Morgan teams up with him to deliver some short-lived, coordinated, power dance moves. That's Desire closes out the main set.

Miller quickly returns on stage after continuous cheering and appears fresh in a '60s-style ruffle shirt and jacket. “Thank you for indulging us,” Miller says before playing Feeling. Free Of Fear ends the night with a bang as the already dancing crowd make the most of the final moments. It's a shame that on this tour Client Liaison seem to have shirked away from some of the spectacle aspects of their live show (ie Miller's outfit changes and the water cooler circa Golden Plains 2013) and present a rather more subdued performance. Nevertheless, Client Liaison impress. Their music is tight, catchy and their parody of Australian culture resonates.