Live Review: Seabellies, Tourism, Fox & Fowl

There's plenty of skanking going down on the dancefloor early, with Fox & Fowl's brand of upbeat indie pop inciting the body rocking. The Canberra-bred, Brisbane-based band are charming and fun, and the key work of main man Lachlan Smart gives their songs the extra quirk they need. Although there's nothing completely revelatory going on performance-wise, everyone present seems to feeling the good vibes, a win whichever way you look at it.

Slotting in the middle of tonight's bill are Brissie four-piece Tourism, and they're tighter than a fish's proverbial. Thanks to the British tongue of frontman Jozef Wisniewski and the sharp guitar work of himself and lead slinger Adrian Brown, the guys send out rock'n'roll vibes not dissimilar to those Arctic Monkeys of Sheffield; however, they do so with smart popish sensibilities, the hooks and choruses easy to chew on. The momentum of their set definitely takes a hit during the quartet's more balladeering numbers, but when they turn up the intensity, focus on their pedals and lock in with some serious riffs, the tracks sound dynamite.

There's probably two, maybe three times the amount of people in the room when Seabellies file out, but it sure as hell doesn't feel like it, with not a single body willing to get within three metres of the stage. That all changes later – oh, how it changes – but the start of the set is hampered by a lack of energy in the crowd, although it doesn't show in the sextet's performance. But as expected, the band's positivity eventually wins the room over. Like all great frontmen, Trent Grenell radiates charisma. He's charming with his banter, solid with his vocals and guitar work, and moves in sudden bursts, spiking the energy on stage with every stuttered step. The three interweaving guitar lines are balanced out nicely by synth, keys and even metallophone from angular-haired lass Stephanie Setz, while the rhythms being sent out by Sean Kelleher are versatile throughout. The Novocastrian group have been over in Berlin putting together their second record with Berkfinger from the Philly Js, and they air a bunch of the new tracks through the set. However, even if you put it down to a first-time listening experience, tonight they just seemed to lack the spark that By Limbo Lake favourites such as Young Cubs and Board The Apartment Up hold in spades. It's the memories of these joyous songs that frantically dancing punters will take away, that and visions of the sublime moment when Setz and Kelleher take centre stage to blast the horn/sax riff of Trans Ending while Grenell smashes the drum kit behind – that shit be electric!