Live Review: Deerhunter, Collarbones, Day Ravies

If you love a good pun Day Ravies is as good as any. The four-piece from Sydney were first to take the stage, playing a set that included songs from their recently released long player Tussle: a mix of washy ambient rock, well suited to the context of the headlining band. Not so suited but nonetheless worth a look-in was the electro duo Collarbones whose dirty lo-fi dubstep and hip hop beatz belied the subliminal tenor of Marcus Whale. A party band for any occasion, the gents had a sizeable crowd to perform to and though you found your mind occasionally wandering, the performance overall was enjoyable, particularly the part where the sound engineer/curtain operator pulled a Red Faces trick, cutting the lights and dropping the curtains before the lads had finished their last song – be this a lesson to support bands who go over their allocated time.
Bradford Cox, the predictably unpredictable and willowy frontman of Deerhunter was less talkative and definitely more blonde than the last time he was in Australia, getting straight into songs from this year's magnificent release Monomania. The band, who have had numerous line-up changes in the past, seem content with now regulars Lockett Pundt and drummer Moses Archuleta (the former a musical legend in his own right) and continue to reinvent themselves with every album. This generally transfers to their live shows, which on the night resembled a mix of crowd-pleasing in the first half of the set, and a more self-indulgent approach in the latter half. I'm still not convinced with the choice of venue, partly because of the lack of any chill out area but also because the sound level bordered on sonic levels of boom, but cheers all round – it was one of the better live performances this reviewer has witnessed in quite some time.