As Midnight Juggernauts prepared to play their first show on Australian soil in some time, there was something of a nostalgic vibe floating around The Zoo.
Never content to look backwards, the band pierced that mood quickly, opening proceedings with a stunning, largely instrumental number from from their forthcoming third album.
Seemingly invigorated by the long lay-off, they wasted no time proving they hadn't lost a step in the three years since their last tour (a stat frontman Vince Vendentta mentions on a regular basis), storming through a set of old favourites and new treats. New single 'Ballad Of The War Machine', blessed with one of their most intoxicating choruses, is greeted rapturously.
Throughout the set, the relatively small but appreciative audience hangs on every note, as astral atmospherics meet gritty, virtuosic musicianship (Andy Szekeres' basslines are a highlight, as always). Before we know it, it's time for the encore (although Vendetta doesn't seem particularly keen to leave the stage in the first place, and rushes back on in less than a minute).
'Road To Recovery' — perhaps the best song in their catalogue, if not quite as popular as 'Into The Galaxy' — and 'So Many Frequencies' get sublime workouts, and then they're gone. We won't be waiting years to see them again, though, with Tame Impala support duties and Groovin' The Moo dates set to keep them busy over the next month or so.
With Daft Punk's 'Random Access Memories' about to remind the world how good dance music sounds when it's played by a live band, the zeitgeist just might be right for the Juggernauts' next album to do great things in June. It couldn't happen to a better band.
