Live Review: Total Control, The Native Cats, DJ Yoni, Greta Now

Greta Now (real name Greta Balog) creates a sound that you wish you could and sings in a way you wish you had the guts to. As the crowd started to wander into Joan Sutherland Theatre, Balog - over minimal, no-wave beats from her laptop - sang in a relaxed, warbling tone. The repetitive nature of her delivery made it easy to get involved as she encouraged the audience to sing along, stating of playing Sydney Opera House, "This is quite intimidating."

In between sets DJ Yoni entertained the chatty, sociable crowd with what we would describe as warped, sexy disco beats. It was the perfect soundtrack for catch-ups.

The Native Cats have something special. Not only is their unique sound something that you have to hear live to really appreciate, but Chloe Alison Escott's use of a Nintendo DS to create bursts of sound over a pumping drum machine and Julian Teakle's insistent bass are beautifully meticulous. Escott indicated that "the tempo speed-up button is really touchy, but it's harder to slow down. So if the song goes faster, that's why". Their stalking, eerie and ultimately imposing set was a pleasure to witness. 

Exactly one year after 2017's curfew-cut-short set, Vivid LIVE invited Total Control back to the Opera House, this time to play inside, where they were free to make as much noise as they wanted, and they certainly made the most of it. The boom of their sound reverberated around the theatre and the juxtaposition of watching the traditionally raucous post-punk group while sitting in the most hallowed of Sydney's venues was not lost on us.

Accompanied by a mini-orchestra of clarinet, violin and saxophones - and a slowly spinning CD being microwaved on loop on the big screen - the spectacle was such that sitting and soaking it in felt ok. Starting with a seven-minute ode to the death of summer, the cacophony of sound coming from the band over James Vinciguerra's pumping beats didn't let up. They dived into their biggest crossover songs in Expensive Dog and Flesh War early, preferring to give their enduring fans a mix of older, more obscure songs that were missing from last year's set.

Singer Daniel Stewart was laconic at best, simply blurting out a quick "cheers" in between tracks. It was within the songs that he dictated the night. Verbose and poetic lyrics were delivered in Stewart's typically powerful way: he just screamed the fuck into the mic. The band were so expressive in the way they played despite there being not a lot of movement on stage; they really let the music do the talking.

"That's very much it. Thank you," concluded Stewart. There was no curfew on this night. Around 75 minutes of powerful, post-punk music through the prism of art allayed fans' fears of a repeat of last year. As people filed out there was hope that Total Control performing as part of Vivid LIVE may become an annual event.