Live Review: The Wedding Present, Seja & The Eversons

It's a pity more people aren't here to catch The Eversons, a band hailing from Wellington, New Zealand who specialise in anxiety-riddled, idiosyncratic, self-deprecating indie pop. The four-piece are tight, offering up great hooks, infectious harmonies and acerbic yet incisive lyrics – Creepy, for instance, is a call-and-response about a guy whose love of the girl of his dreams is thought to be too forward by his mates. The track titles often speak for themselves – I'm A Conservative, Heading Overseas, Marriage – all relatable topics looked at in a silly, flippant manner that only young ne'er-do-wells can get away with. The band holds more than a pinch of Superchunk about them, which gives them even higher marks.

Seja offers up a generally strong set with aid from Bree van Ryk on drums and Simon Grayson on bass. She starts on her own though, a guitar slung over the shoulder, and whilst pretty the song doesn't capture the imagination. As soon as she is behind the keys and is joined by her compatriots, however, the songs immediately lift. Call Me Wrong offers some lush atmospherics, the German-language Wir Haben Geheimnisse offers a lilting respite, and van Reyk's drumming comes to the fore towards the end.

It may have taken 28 years, but Leeds' own The Wedding Present (and in particular David Gedge) finally make it to Brisbane – and how. What follows is 90 minutes of blissful, unadulterated guitar pop of the highest degree. After being heralded on stage by a swirl of guitar feedback, the quartet start with Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, followed quickly by Skin Diving, Gedge already gesticulating and inhabiting these decades-old songs like he is still in his twenties. It doesn't take long for some George Best classics to rear their heads, with Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft and an ebullient rendition of Shatner, the bass is rumbling and when Gedge joins James Alexander for a double guitar attack it's an awesome display. Slowing down for Heather, Three and Mystery Date, it's not long before we're racing through the likes of Dreamworld, Loveslave, Flying Saucers and the brilliant Kennedy. It's easy to forget how much of an innovative bedrock this new band is for these tracks until you see it live, full tilt. There is a reason that The Wedding Present are here, three decades in, being received in rapturous adulation, whilst their protégés fade away. The music is honest, heartfelt – and Gedge cares about every single song. Ending perfectly on the one-two punch of Brassneck and Seamonsters, declining an encore, The Wedding Party give a sterling performance – better late than never.