Klaxons at The Enmore Theatre, Sydney

KLAXONS
CANYONS
PARADES
The Enmore Theatre, 02/09/10

Sydney’s Parades looked like a bunch of high-school misfits who had been rounded up from the loneliest corners of the playground and ushered onto the stage against their will, but, behind their Breakfast Club aesthetic was an awesome, layered soundscape so huge that it’s hard to believe any venue smaller than The Enmore could cope with such epic noise. As is their wont, the quartet bolstered their numbers for their live show and with five boys and one girl offering four vocals and all manner of percussion and effects, their set was diverse and their songs experimental and enormous. This is a band with a really exciting future.

It’s a shame then, that they weren’t higher on the bill at the expense of DJ duo Canyons, who looked pretty bored on stage as they sipped their beers and went through the motions of their disappointingly soporific set.

When Klaxons (above) first came to Sydney in 2006 they barely knew one end of their instruments from the other but, despite the shambolic nature of their live show, the energy they gave off was unbelievable. Two albums and plenty of touring later they appeared at The Enmore as much more polished musicians, but their raw energy remained as intense as ever. Opening with Flashover and moving through As Above, So Below, The Same Space and Gravity’s Rainbow, their guitar-led dance tunes were hard, fast and really, really LOUD as they continued to alternate between oldies and newies. Pick of the bunch were the catchy Venusia, the ever brilliant pop of Golden Skans and latest single, Echoes.

The hour-long set flew by, and, as they wrapped things up with It’s Not Over Yet, Surfing The Void and Atlantis To Interzone, the band seemed genuinely taken aback by the fervent reception they received. “I’m not joking,” said keyboardist/vocalist, James Righton with a look of bewilderment. “You’re the fucking best audience ever.” True, the crowd were going absolutely mental from start to finish, but that’s largely to do with the fact that the Brits practically ripped the roof off from the get go. With a sound that takes accessible pop and bludgeons it repeatedly over the head with abrasive guitar-based dance, Klaxons have created something quite unique and visceral.