Live Review: The Flower Drums, Fait, DJ Rkda, Leafy Suburbs, DJ Laz1boy

Whether enticed by the prospect of great tunes or simply some tasty dumplings, music fans were quick to fill out The Bird early on a Friday night for a hometown show from The Flower Drums as part of their 28 Mansions national tour. Making his debut at the start of the night was Laz1Boy, who spun a collection of goodtime hip hop tunes including Mercy by Kanye West and Attak by Rustie featuring Danny Brown along with Kendrick Lamar’s Swimming Pools.

Live producer Leafy Suburbs was up next to perform the dreamy soundscapes and experimental electronic sounds from his album Psychic Lease, including Clasp, Aloha Precint and Claps. The producer was well received as he created a heavy, layered sound by combining samples with looped vocals and adding live percussion He was followed by Melbourne DJ RKDA, who came out to get people energised and dancing.

Local four-piece Fait began with a slow, stirring version of Koto before Elise Higgins switched to piano for the start of Halcyon while the screen behind the band projected eerie shots of billowing smoke in black and white. Things got heavier with Surrender To before the band began a new instrumental track that saw Darrell Sundai place a light into his drum kit to illuminate the band’s silhouettes against the intense dynamic energy of the song. They finished strong with Slow Glow and Interlude before RKDA got back on the decks to play some upbeat tunes from Deadmau5 and Cashmere Cat among others.

The Flower Drums arrived onstage shortly after to kick things off with Bad Websites and Birthday Girl, each featuring glittering synths and smooth electronic drumming that got people dancing quickly. Dianas singer Nathalie Pavlovic came on to provide great back-up vocals for Don’t Wait and help get the crowd further energised before the band tore through great versions of End II End and ATS. As their set reached its end, they kept the party going a little longer with Swim Down before ending with a great version of Walking At Night that was met with one big final round of applause from the audience.