Live Review: Seekae - Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre

The art school crowd showed out en masse to welcome Seekae back to Sydney for one of the first shows the three-piece has played in their hometown for quite some time. They were a perfect fit for the spectacle of Vivid LIVE and Seekae's set was basically delivered as three acts. The first featured an eight-piece string section to compliment the ambience and ethereal nature of the group's more ambient works. The arrangements for the section were incredibly well realised, with even more space in the songs being opened up to let the strings come through. At points they were the only ones playing while the band watched on with awe.

The second section saw the introduction of proper vocals into the Seekae sound for the first time. What could have been an awkward moment was executed beautifully and with a subtlety that saw them resist the temptation to become yet another band with electronic elements. Instead, when the drummer stepped into the spotlight to deliver the first lines, a whole new layer of personality and character became an immediate part of the band's extensive palette. His two vocal performances – and especially on the new track, Yech – were an unexpected highlight of the performance, as opposed to being an oddity.

The third section saw the band's most well-known tracks from their debut album, +Dome, played straight and with an organic sense of composition still delivered with astounding accuracy. Void was an obvious crowd pleaser, with the drummer once again adding some beautiful backing vocals to the mix.

The hardest part of the gig was sitting still, especially when watching the Seekae's sound dude dancing like a maniac behind the desk. He was almost a feature of the show itself, lit up in the middle of the room, behaving the way everyone wanted to. As the set became more upbeat and the band performed their most danceable stuff it was almost excruciating. The payoff for this, of course, was getting to see such a commanding and interesting outfit in their prime, with an amazing soundsystem in such a magnificent venue up so close.