Live Review: Kirin J Callinan, Standish/Carlyon, Scraps, Per Purpose

In an ongoing tidal wave blitzkrieg pushing what shall now be dubbed as shock-jock-art-rock, Kirin J Callinan has finally dropped his debut album and subsequently has turned up at The Zoo to play a show tonight with a bloody impressive supporting cast.

Things begin with guitars as Per Purpose file onto the stage with half the band looking like they had been in a street fight or a pre-show fashion consultation with tonight's headliner, wearing plaster casts and appropriately ripped Marilyn Manson shirts. The set itself is of the same high bar they usually deliver – even with casts – and to top it off, drawing from Mr C, vocalist Glen Schenau even shows a bit of skin, which no doubt pleased a handful of audience members. Due to a cross-town jaunt in order to catch tonight's rival show highlight Boondall Boys, grabbing the tail end of Scraps wasn't enough to do it justice. The influences tattooed on her sleeve seem to go down rather well in a bit of an odd billing for her, as she brings the most concise pop moments of the night.

The cross-globe, painfully stylised Standish/Carlyon are also perhaps a bit of an odd choice, but damn, a welcome one. The duo/periodical live three-piece resonate through both their music and presentation, the essence of Miami Vice, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and, hell, any kind of Vice derivative you can think of, as the group deliver up the appropriate level of inspired electronica. Some people are a bit divided by the stupid amount of cosmopolitan style that's on offer, but with tracks such as Nono/Yoyo it is hard to not get instantly sucked into the band's headspace and the atmosphere their music creates, which accentuates what is on their record tenfold.

Then we reach Kirin J Callinan who, from the first note, delivers a set that caters across the board, from bone-crushing guitar work to light-hearted dream space ballads that are simply a joy to see live – if your chair was facing the wall. In true Callinan style, we get the typical antics that aren't that far removed from a no-budget Kyle Sandilands. The stupid sunglasses/outfits, a headset on Callinan, bloated musical sections, a clueless audience member on stage – at first acting as a capo, then dancing (was she a plant?) – and absolutely torturous banter all contribute to overshadowing tonight's performance, and in fact, Callinan's whole career which, if it weren't for some decent music here and there, would have been sent the way of Old Yeller a long time ago.

With the set running 20 minutes late, a few have pretty much had enough, and even if Callinan does something else 'outrageous', it is ignored as it should initially have been. Tonight's set is mostly drawn from Embracism and the sound really complements the band, but what doesn't is what's most obvious about the set.