Before you even walk in the door of the Palace for the Melbourne leg of the Panic’s Rain On The Humming Wire tour, you know you’re in for a great show. The much loved Perth boys have been on the scene for almost ten years now, and have established themselves as one of Australia’s most talented and consistent live acts. Their accomplished and catchy brand of pop rock also makes them one of the most accessible; this is a band you could take your best friend, your brother and your Dad to see, and still manage to keep them all happy – a fact reflected by the eclectic mix of fans in the crowd tonight.
First up are New Zealand band Avalanche City. These guys play the kind of jangly, Mumford and Sons-esque folk that is right in vogue at the moment, but have the quality tunes (and quality beards) to nail it. Their song “Love Love Love”, a number one hit in New Zealand, was a standout, and particularly well received by the crowd.
Next up are duo Georgia Fair. These guys originated as surfing buddies on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and you can hear that genesis in their soft harmonies and low-key guitars. Their performance is polished but appears effortless, and the dreamy vocals of singer Jordan Wilson are strong enough to reach the furthermost corners of the monolithic Palace. Their song “Picture Frames” is both incredibly catchy and incredibly familiar, though I can’t seem to work out why (after further research, I discover that the song provided the soundtrack for a tv ad for, strangely enough, flavoured milk).
The Panics play a set consisting mostly of songs from the acclaimed Rain On The Humming Wire, with tracks from Cruel Guards and Sleeps Like a Curse thrown in. The Palace is a venue frequented by major international acts, but from the first eerie, atmospheric chords of opener “One Way Street”, the Panics manage to make it their own. “Majesty” with its pounding drums and powerful chords seems purpose-built for stadium rock, while “Don’t Fight It” has become an anthem in the true, sing-a-long, lighter-waving sense of the word.
But it’s not all grandeur; this is a band that does light and shade incredibly well, and from the moody “Ruins” to the more country-tinged “Sleep Like A Curse”, the band move between different emotions with the kind of competence that only comes from playing together for 5 years.
Frontman Jae Laffer has a unique ability to fill straightforward lyrics with the kind of emotion that makes you feel like they were written just for you; the urging lyrical hook from “Ruins” (“I don’t know what we will become/but I just know that I’m not the one that you’re looking for”) is a perfect example of this.
But even when there were singing about love and loss and heartbreak, there was a palpable sense of joy about this gig. The Panics played with the kind of enthusiasm and appreciation for the crowd that can’t help but be infectious and, in doing so, they gave the show the kind of uplifting energy that keeps you afloat for well after the closing tune.
– Annika Holden
