2012 marked the return of Australia’s favourite dance/electro duo The Presets, with their album Pacifica. Kicking off 2013 with a national tour, it’s clear their return to the scene was indeed a success, with their first of two Melbourne shows a sell out.
An odd mix of characters flooded the Palace Theatre on the boiling hot Wednesday eve, punters already sweating while at a stand still.
Groovy mamas were surprisingly high in number, complete with their dancing shoes and an already half empty glass of wine.
Other crowd members came in the form of young couples wearing Converse constantly smooching. Then add the partygoers with extreme amounts of energy, and a grey-haired, ponytailed bikie or two, and you’ve got yourself one of the most bizarre collections of music fans – but hell was it an enthusiastic bunch.
Sydney DJ Light Year began the night’s festivities, with his first of two sets for the evening. Techno sounds occasionally laced with chimes and jungle-vibe bongo drums were inoffensive but did little to entice the mass, rather talking and drinking were on the agenda for most.
Parachute Youth introduced a new kind of electro to the room. Sounding like a blend of uplifting electro poppers Passion Pit and the harder electro-rock of Pendulum, Parachute Youth’s tunes demanded attention, and although still relatively unknown to many of the fans, they well and truly received it.
The pit began to fill and dancing, rather than talking, commenced.
The duo was the perfect support for The Presets. Aside from the usual laptop and DJ set up, they actually played the keyboard and sang – which other than the Presets themselves, is very rare to find; an electro outfit that include a live singer.
Beginning their set 15 minutes late and talking to the audience between almost every song, it seemed as though the friendly pair were slightly short of material. Due to all the talking, momentum ceased between nearly every number and killed the energetic vibes.
They played latest single ‘Count To Ten’ and tracks from their upcoming EP such as ‘Calling Out your Name’, while biggest hit ‘Can’t Get Better Than This’ – which punters actually knew the words to – ended the set with force. Parachute Youth are definitely ones to keep an eye out for.
Light Year returned to the stage, for another hour-long DJ set – strangely more than double the length of Parachute Youth. Although with tunes slightly more appealing this time round, again the crowd was uninterested, leading to yet another moment of unnecessary buzz killing.
Teasing the crowd with lights turning on and off, after a suspense filled10-minute late arrival The Presets hit the stage.
The collection of fans immediately transformed into an outrageously enthusiastic assembly, not seen at any point in the evening until now.
Hundreds of people appeared out of nowhere, all three levels of the theatre jam-packed and dancing wildly.
The Sydney pair opened with ‘Push’, from their latest album, but continued into a set that included material old and new.
These two musicians are astounding, frontman Julian Hamilton on vocals and keys, and Kim Moyes on (what often makes them stand out) drums. Their live synth-laced electro pop was of record quality and hit all the right spots.
Strobe lights and lasers filled the room as expected, with the added feature of four digital screens at the back of the stage, making the visual display that much more invigorating.
At several points throughout the hour and 45 minute show, Moyes left his drum podium to play the xylophone and another keyboard – impressive, to say the least.
The ending of ‘If I Know You’, about a quarter of the way through the set, saw Hamilton finally address the audience – the right amount of talking an electro show should include.
Punters danced throughout the rest, the change in the lights often the only sign a song had ended and a new one started.
Most recent biggest hit, ‘Ghosts’ saw the crowd bellowing out the tribal sounding lyrics with an enormous amount of gusto. Older favourites ‘My People’ and ‘Are You The One’ ignited a similar amount of enthusiasm, and when newer tune ‘A.O.’ began, so too did a vivacious rave.
‘Talk Like That’ was the closer of the set, but after leaving the stage The Presets walked back on less than 30 seconds later, to take a photo of the crowd and give thanks.
They played an unnecessary one-song encore of ‘Anywhere’, which ended the night still on a high, but nothing in comparison to what the original closer offered.
Although with some exceedingly lengthy intros and a pointless encore, The Presets are well and truly back, and boy do they still have it.
