Backing up from Splendour In The Grass, American indie act Darwin Deez played their first of two sideshows at The Standard on Tuesday night.
Opening with a stylistically varied and diverse set of originals, Sydney trio Pluto Jonze got the night off to strong start.
Shifting from conventional indie rock, to driving psychedelic, and back to what was almost a 50’s rock and roll sound, the Sydneysiders kept the ever growing crowd, which included Darwin Deez himself, thoroughly entertained for the duration.
Set highlights included “Eject”, which showcased not only Jonze’s abilities on the theremin, but also the band’s use of stage dressing, in the form of televisions, and “Hispedangongonajelanguiro” whose nonsense value and funky riffs demonstrated how much fun this band really are.
After a short break, Deez and his band shuffled on to the stage, however that was not where the shuffling stopped.
After a brief introduction, the whole band lined up at the front of the stage and performed short, choreographed dance, the first of many that would punctuate the coming set.
Once the band was done dancing, it was the crowd’s turn.
Kicking off with “You Can’t Be My Girl”, the lead single from their 2013 release, Songs For Imaginative People, the band had the crowd moving to the upbeat indie rock, complimented by Deez’s warbling vocals.
Moving straight into “My DNA”, from their 2009 self-titled release, the tempo was slowed a bit, and while they maintained the fun atmosphere present in the audience, the poignancy of many of the song’s lyrics was definitely felt.
Though it is not a heavily featured aspect of the band’s talents, their ability to harmonize was heavily displayed in the song “Up In The Clouds”, adding a further, almost dreamlike feeling to the song.
Keeping the upbeat atmosphere going, Deez moved on to “Alice”, whose allusion to Sydney produced an excited reaction from the crowd.
Before performing the hit, Deez told a brief story about the song’s subject, and how he was going to see her the following day for the first time in three years, which only served to engage the crowd further in the emotion and celebration of the concert.
The set was then slowed right down for the soulful “The Bomb Song”.
Though the tonal change was a little jarring, the crowd responded to track’s the heartfelt lyrics and harmonies, mirroring them back at the band.
After the brief, if enjoyable, spot of relaxation, it was time for the mood to come back up, and Deez and company had exactly the right remedy
As the band launched in to “Chelsea’s Hotel”, Deez promised that the song would produce craziness from himself, and he did not disappoint.
Though the opening was slow, the song soon got much quicker and much louder, which led to Deez flailing his messy curls around, much to the crowd’s delight.
As the set drew to a close, the band performed “Radar Detector”, their highest charting single to date, much to the crowd’s excitement.
Epitomising so much of what is great about Darwin Deez, the set’s penultimate track showcased the trademark bright, punchy riffs and sentimental yet laidback lyrics that the fans had come to see.
Returning for a brief encore, including “All In The Wrist”, the band signed off, wrapping up an incredibly enjoyable evening.
Though the venue itself was quite stripped down, its intimate nature made it the perfect stage for the small crowd to enjoy Deez’s mellow riffs and laconic lyrics.
Throughout the set, the singer seemed at home, exuding a certain dorky charm, keeping the crowd enthralled, and surely driving them to do their utmost to catch Darwin Deez next time he comes to see Alice.