Live Review: RUFUS, Hayden James, Kilter

Adelaide's HQ was the perfect venue for Sydney-based trio Rufus and supporting acts Kilter and Hayden James. Audience members were host to powerful vibrations from the three Australian EDM acts at various levels of the floor. Well known on the local stage and broadening to international charts, the three acts exhibit the passion and ingenuity that is the Australian music scene in 2014.  

Kilter was first up on stage with a dramatic set of dancey mixes and a passionate live steel-drum percussion accompaniment. The simple setup highlighted Kilter's enthusiastic talent as he blended tracks, holding the audience's attention with casual conversation between his heart-racing remixes of Ben Pearce's What I Might Do and crowd favourite, Shadow Boxer, a rework of NZ act Shapeshifter. Kilter tantalised the audience with a taste of what was to come from the all-Australian line-up, and was later seen on the balcony with Adelaide producer Motez, excitedly recording the energy of the crowd throughout Rufus' set.

Next up was Hayden James, wowing the crowd with stunning visuals of blooming flowers, kaleidoscopic lights and shots of a gorgeous model singing to his mixes and blends. The crowd moved energetically throughout a set of electronic dance numbers with the aid of James' skilfully subtle transitions and impressive visual aids, going wild for Permission To Love, a track that Touch Sensitive of Van She had a hand in mixing.

Rufus walked out on stage to a roar of loving cheers and started with crowd-pleaser, Modest Life, from their debut album, Atlas. Lead vocalist Tyrone Lindqvist energised the crowd with an easy confidence, noting the date (Friday the 13th) and suggesting everyone “get freaky” as they moved into Sundream. The boys constructed their set cleverly, beginning with a modest light show and infectious melodies that quickly built into soaring crescendos and euphoric light shows, leaving the crowd craving more. Tyrone thanked the crowd genuinely for coming and for “still buying CDs” as lights shone like stars behind him. The set finished up with hit, Take Me, during which the crowd euphorically joined in and sang the chorus as one, and were left literally screaming for more as the three-piece headed off the stage. 
After a short but tormenting wait, Rufus headed back to play their incredible reworking of Foals' My Number, integrating Booka Shade's Charlotte, with flawless work from James Hunt and Jon George. The boys were bathed in a dazzling orange light like a sunset as they thanked the audience and headed into their last track, a rapturous extended version of chart-topper, Desert Night. 

Despite the minor lyrical slip-up in Talk To Me, which went largely unnoticed by the crowd due to the band's confident manner, the talent that is Rufus pulled off an extremely entertaining set, leaving the audience eagerly awaiting the release of future work from the trio, as promised by frontman Tyrone – “The next time we visit, we'll be here with new stuff.” It's safe to say that Adelaide audiences cannot wait!