In their first visit to Australian shores, the Los Angeles-based group endear themselves, not only with a pulsating set but also continuing that time-honoured tradition of informing the crowd that they live “in the best place on earth”. <forced crowd response>Whooo! Yeeaarh!</forced crowd response>

Occupying an area between the driving guitars of the Smashing Pumpkins and the indie hipness of Death Cab for Cutie, the group’s single, ‘Lazy Eye’ causes folded arms to be dropped and a hint of near-dancing to permeate through the room.

When a front-row audience member complains he couldn’t hear the singing, Brian instructs him to turn the foldback speaker around so he could hear the vocals better. Far from a just a token comment, that’s dedication to the cause.