Live Review: You Am I, The SIGIT, Draught Dodgers

Having heard whispers about tonight's mysterious opening act, Draught Dodgers, we walk down Melbourne's Market Lane early to avoid queueing. Earlycomers who are able to make it inside are rewarded with a short but blistering set from the newly formed four-piece featuring ex-Bitter Sweet Kicks frontman Jack Davies on vocals and You Am I's Tim Rogers on guitar. Davies lurches wildly across the stage and occasionally launches himself into the front row, his powerful, gravelly vocals transfixing enough to allow Rogers to take a back seat and enjoy thrashing his guitar. While still in their infancy, Draught Dodgers' blues-tinged rock tunes have tonight sowed the seeds for something very interesting indeed.

Indonesian rockers The SIGIT are tonight's take-home band for many of the uninitiated. Having gone into tonight's show knowing very little about them, they prove to be a solid surprise package, playing a set full of tasty riffs and delicious grooves. The room is bursting at the seams with nodding heads, with the band smashing out a high energy rendition of Red Summer. Rektivianto Yoewono's mammoth, wailing vocals quickly snare the attention of each attendee.

Ding Dong's bandroom is now at capacity and every flat, raised surface is fair game. Tonight's DJ, fuzzy-haired troubadour Fraser A Gorman, scores the prize position and perches on a windowsill. As the crowd stands pressed together waiting for You Am I to take the stage, one can't help but look around and think about how many hook-ups, break-ups and fuck-ups they have soundtracked over the years.

Rogers strolls to the mic and drawls, "It's a rock'n'roll party in here," as he launches into One Drink At A Time. From the word go, it is evident that this is just going to be one of those gigs. The crowd needs little prompting to turn the floor into a churning mass of flailing limbs, and the gem-studded set, which pulls tunes as liberally from Porridge & Hotsauce as it does from fan favourites, keeps the vibe going strong. Mr Milk sees the remainder of the mum and dad crowd component throw themselves into the action, as the band hit their sashaying, stomping stride. The one-two punch of Rogers and Davey Lane's combined vocal and guitar talents is a delight to behold.

While the onstage banter is top notch as always ("Too much adoration turns me into a cunt," cracks Rogers), the show is not without its offstage shenanigans. An overzealous punter cracks his head open on a stage monitor as the band are finishing up No, A Minor Blue, and another punter heckles Rogers from the front. When Rogers later spots him arguing with a staff member, he walks off stage and stands eyeball to eyeball with the troublemaker while finishing up Purple Sneakers. The punter goes from brave to sheepish in about two seconds flat under the singer's withering stare. It is a shame, as up until that point it was a particularly brilliant rendition of the beloved song.

Late set highlights include an extremely punchy Who Put The Devil In You — with its hip-loosening bassline courtesy of Andy Kent and machine-gunfire drumming of Rusty Hopkinson — and a belter: Cathy's Clown. All too soon the band reaches the tail-end of their 20-song set and cap it off with a blistering Berlin Chair, Rogers' frenzied vocals still send shivers down the spines of the sweaty masses who scream his lyrics back at him with as much power as they can muster. And just like that it is over.

As You Am I take their final bow, it is humbling to realise what we have just witnessed — a tiny, spectacular club show by Australia's most beloved bon vivants, and a band at the top of their game.