There were a lot of smug faces at The Tivoli on Wednesday as a small crowd gathered to watch The Presets.
And why wouldn’t we be smug? How often do you get to watch one of Australia’s leading electronic acts in an intimate, invite only gig?
The majority of those in attendance had won their tickets through Channel [V] and Pepsi Next, who hosted the event. It was an alcohol free evening, but there was plenty of caffeine and sugar, courtesy of Pepsi, to get everyone amped up for some dancing.
The show opened with one of the duo’s new songs ‘Push’, Kim Moyes pounding away on the drums behind Julian Hamilton’s distinct monotonous but edgy vocal style. They played a good mix of tracks from all three of their albums including the pure '80s pop sound of ‘Promises’ and the sea shanty-esque ‘Ghosts’ from their new album Pacifica. ‘Ghosts’ got a great response with plenty of people singing along.
Then there was the goose-bump inducing ‘If I Know You’ and ‘This Boy’s In Love’ from Apocalypso and that old favourite, ‘I Go Hard I Go Home’, from Beams. Predictably but deservedly, the thumping, unifying force of ‘My People’ got the biggest crowd reaction of the night with all hands in the air and screams on Hamilton’s command.
I half expected them to end on that high note but they treated us to another four songs, ending with a rousing rendition of ‘Talk Like That’ and a promise that they’d be back again soon.
