Live Review: The Presets, Wordlife, Motorik Vibe Council

As new waves of Australian dance music continue to ripple across the pond, let's not forget who led the first push of tidal proportions around a decade ago. The Presets aren't going anywhere and they're still evolving.

Ahead of a fitting live collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra later this year, the Conservatorium boys-turned-party pioneers (Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton) are back on tour in support of a series of singles they're putting out in 2014, the first of which is the pulsing, glitchy Goodbye Future.

Motorik Vibe Council and the always-fun Wordlife warm up the crowd with bouncing party beats, but it was pretty clear who everyone was really there for. A glorious array of fans of all ages descended on the Metro: ponytailed neckbeards, freaks in costume, excitable party girls and boys and probably your mum and dad too. And as if to remind us that they're pretty much an institution in this country, one patriot rocked up waving a small Australian flag. The boys are back in their home town.

With three albums behind them, The Presets are more than capable of putting together an all-killer set. Push, a track that sounds a little thin on Pacifica, thankfully translates into an irresistible march of an opener. If I Know You, a simmering, poignantly cynical anti-love song likewise transforms into a hit made for the dancefloor, getting everyone ready for an assault of favourites from the triumphant, militaristic Ghosts to one of their earliest infectious hits, 2005's Are You The One?, which by some miracle inspires the whole room to clap a syncopated rhythm perfectly in time.

While he shies away from the falsetto that appears frequently across their catalogue, Hamilton's voice is flawlessly rich and clear. He's the primary energy source, sweating in a wifebeater and holding out his microphone to the crowd by the end of the show, while Moyes is master of precision percussion – pushing the band above many other electronic acts – and messianic poses, while boldly lit hexagons on the stage – 'sexagons', the band has dubbed them – pulse in time to the music.

Youth In Trouble produces a frenzy in the crowd that the pair carry to brilliant effect by jumping straight onto the eternal party/political anthem – more relevant than ever today: “Soldiers on the waterfront, they wanna ship me far away… So let me hear you scream if you're with me!” – My People.

On a brand new track with incredibly catchy chorus, Hamilton sings, “I could go crazy in a place like this”, before the syncopated vocoder-esque background vocals of Goodbye Future kick in – and crazy is certainly where the crowd is going. Hamilton spots the Aussie flag bearer and gives a wink and a beating of his breast in solidarity. Apocalypso's beautifully building epic, Anywhere, satisfies everyone before they drop one final, glorious scoop of pure pop fun with the cheeky Talk Like That. With the whole theatre enthralled from start to finish, it's clear The Presets are still the home favourites.