Reviews / Live

Perhaps it was a question of potency and purity: keep it short, keep it sharp, keep it consistent. In that regard he passed with flying colours.

A penis-themed cover of Weezer’s Undone – The Sweater Song (less faithful than Bored Nothing’s take on it here last month) follows and soon the gig moves into the band’s divisive-but-passionate ‘covers’ section: Takin’ Care Of Business and phenomenally half-assed versions of Enter Sandman and Stairway To Heaven raise the sloppy party vibe and close the set with a very happy audience howling for more.

Though an acoustic version of Gimme Sympathy is an anti-climactic end to the evening – following on from a blistering rendition of GoldGuns Girls – it’s an interesting take, perhaps even an improvement on the original, and shows a band still happy to experiment.

This time around Sydney witnessed one of the most exciting rock shows on the planet from a band that only improves with age.

Passenger invited Larsen on stage to end the night off beautifully with some crowd participation, before putting his guitar in its case, packing his suitcase and bidding farewell to the country.

Tonight’s gig is a blast from the past, reminding us that those old Bauhaus songs still sound fresh.

They're a band worth keeping an eye on.

They welcomed Tame Impala frontman and part-time POND member Kevin Parker to play glockenspiel alongside members of Doctopus, and of course, Green Man, capping off the show with an electrifying version of Midnight Mass.

It was a fantastic evening for all involved and the ‘Fanthers’ will certainly be hoping their idols will be back on our shores soon.

Steve Clisby’s lounge music chic was perfect for the dining experience of the Brass Monkey but as a headlining act, he needed something more to get people out of their seats and grooving.