Friday night is always the light at the end of a gloomy week as autumnal weather shifts.
As I lined up outside Sydney's Liberty Hall (16 May) leaning on a wall still wet from the arvo showers, thank the universe for live music.Early birds catch the worm. Opening act Killian, mixing from the decks, killed it with old favourites; blink and it's The Cardigans' 'Erase/Rewind' and we've not quite hit the millennium during this set.
Shady Nasty were next with a style akin to if Sticky Fingers and Barry Can't Swim had banged cymbols together, we'd have this sound. Blending genres we love, it's post punk, rock, trip-hop.
When fans amongst the crowd sing back some of the lyrics, it creates an energy. Chant vocals are here, and humans will trek to see these guys.
Jono Ma is a bridge between the bands, and the crowd is filling up now. We're here to shake off the rainy week. Getting us to dance it away, this set had that old term we used to say before bangers. Floor fillers.
This evening has been carefully curated; and my hat goes off to the organisers even before Skeleten comes on (even if a little later than advertised). Visual artistry doesn't get mentioned enough; if I could describe it tonight with one word, it would be mnemonic.
It only works if the sound does. Skeleten don't just bring lyrics and beats to the room, they bring a trance. Lead vocalist Russell Fitzgibbon is leading a movement. It's electronic, it's shape-shifting and if indie science-fiction films were made today, they'd be snatching these tracks in a heartbeat.
Playing tracks from the new album, 'Mentalized', it can't get any better. Unless you throw in a few old favourites and tell us "life is good". It's a performance that you don't want to end, but this deep scene has to – it's the end of the world and we're singing the chorus loud into Liberty, the rhythm of it all.
Skeleten, did you hear the applause? It had a pulse. You had us. Keep this memory for when you go onto other worlds touring what is now one of my most played albums of 2025.
Let me repeat. If you didn't get down to listen to this live, get down and buy this record. Download it. Play it, and maybe you'll hear what I hear. A soundtrack to a raver's dream.
