Live Review: Moana, Usurper Of Modern Medicine, Kitchen People, Joni In The Moon, Hokra

Things were buzzing early upstairs at The Leederville Hotel, as fans arrived early for the launch of Moana’s new video for Echo.

A small yet attentive crowd were seated near the stage to catch last minute fill-in Hokra kick things off with a fine solo acoustic set, getting the audience warmed up with a handful of covers and originals like Running and Smoking.

Joni In The Moon was up next, with Tara Hogan playing Rhodes piano and providing back-up for vocalist Joni Hogan. Joni displayed her incredible vocals and strong head voice in tracks like opener L’il Star and This Love, while the pair combined strong harmonies on Sorrow Trees and new song, War And Porn. A crowd started to appear in the room for ballad, Woman On Fire, and set closer, Helicopters, which got a huge round of applause.

Kitchen People cranked things up a notch with the garage rock trio joined by Aborted Tortoise’s Charles Wickham on guitar to power through a set of high-energy tunes. While they encountered a few sound problems during the set, it didn’t stop tracks like My Girlfriend Don’t Like Rock And Roll and 666 Weeks making a big impression on the crowd.

Playing their last official gig for the year, Usurper Of Modern Medicine tore the stage up with their unique psychedelic sounds, starting with Motorolla Borealis and moving into heavier territory with Hard Candy. Bass player and lead singer Steven Aaron Hughes jumped down into the crowd for last track, A Jam For The Dying Sun, continuing to hammer out the rhythm on his instrument while the rest of the band brought the song home.   

Finally it was time for Moana to kick things off. Projected on the screens was the band’s haunting video, featuring themselves and other people in a forest covered in tribal markings and feather headdresses that fitted the dreamy, melancholic vibe of the song perfectly. Unfortunately, due to some sound issues, the volume was lacking a bit, with calls from the audience to turn it up.

Despite this, after the video finished there was a huge round of applause and the band kicked into My End, with Moana Lutton’s hypnotic voice and mesmerising stage presence getting the crowd hooked from the start. The band delivered great versions of Nightingale and Killer among others before finishing with Echo and Golden Orb, leaving the stage to another massive round of applause.