The Presets Live
June 25th 2008 05:01
Cramming into Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion I could feel the (non drug related) buzz that my stomach reserves only for the only two men with slightly receding hairlines that I fancy: The Presets.
After having one way eye sex with Kim at a previous concert, I thought it only natural that I should push my way to the front and resume our love affair. Getting through the hordes of drunk and high pre teens - which the band has attracted after smashing mainstream pop charts with the release of My People – proved nothing against my will for a booty call.
The lights dimmed and Kim appeared not to far from where I was standing, already sitting behind the drums. On strolls Julian in a pink suit jacket and screams the first line of Talk Like That into the mic, kicking everyone into gear. The set was a mix of crowd pleasers from Apocalypso and some of their best work from Beams (released in 2005). This Boys In Love had every person in the audience jumping to the clever mix of pop hooks with the technicolor chorus. The song had more of traditional Presets’ ghoulish edge to it live, as opposed to the recorded version which is slightly dreamier. The boys played with the audience, going from the throbbing highs of Are You the One to the liquid, spiraling chorus of the hugely underrated Eucalyptus.
Towards the end of the set Julian stopped and said they’d been on tour for the past two years and were understandably exhausted, but coming back to play a local Sydney show “reminded them of why they started in the first place”.. This produced a sound from that audience that can only be described as similar to being smacked in the back of the head with a brick. After making a short departure off stage, The Presets came back on for one final, goose-bump inducing song. In his creepiest robotic voice, over the top of a thumping beat, Julian sang…
“Warmer, yeah now you're getting warmer,
Feel like you're getting closer,
Yeah now you're getting so hot,
Feel like you're burning”
And just as everyone was getting trance induced they pulled the base away and threw everyone into a free fall with the chorus. As this happened lazes spiraled out from every direction and became the only things in the room. The effect was other-worldly, and as the crowd poured out onto the streets and into the freezing night air it was like waking up from a thoroughly enjoyable nightmare.
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