Live Review: Mark Ronson, Pond, Yolanda Be Cool

Scanning the crowd around the room, you'd expect the Euro beats of Yolanda Be Cool to hit the mark. Unfortunately it appears more to be a 'smile and nod politely' than the intended 'dance your feet off' scenario. The pair don't necessarily drop a bad set, mixing in samples from Corona, Nelly Furtado and their recent remix of Sugar Man, but their 30 minutes are easily summed up by the crowd cheering the audio samples they played between each song.

It takes no time for Pond to emerge and transform the floor within a single track. What seemed like an odd support selection turns into a stroke of genius as Nick Allbrook patrols the empty left-hand side of the stage with an inventory of wildly psychedelic melodies. Their packed set melts the minds of the unsuspecting, with songs like Waiting Around For Grace, Sitting Up On Our Crane and Giant Tortoise. Cutting tracks with precision, dripping in cool fuzz and exhibiting a stage chemistry that spreads cheek to cheek grins, they set the bar mighty high for the main act.

Lights dim and a projector screen fires up to bring out Mark Ronson with Feel Right with Theophilus London and a video clip dropping Mystikal's vocal track. It's a strong start to the set with Ronson standing in front of the screen, DJing below a three-piece brass ensemble and band while MCs bounce around the stage enlivening the crowd. Backing straight into flashback track Ooh Wee, then an appearance from MNDR taking on Bang Bang Bang, and Kyle Falconer diving into The Bike Song, the special guest roster is packed. Not all shimmers for Ronson, though, as many tracks are a complete miss with MCs essentially miming on a low volume mic to a heavy backing track, with a tail end of the set not even local hero Kevin Parker is able to save with a spectacular rendition of Daffodils. Closing out with the smash hit Uptown Funk, it's hard to shake the feeling that Ronson's latest stage ensemble wasn't able to grasp the lofty heights achieved by earlier trips to the country and ended up being dominated by a solid support band set.