After a stellar 2007 and a landmark set at this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival, The Panics touched down in Brisbane before heading off to write the follow up to the ARIA-award-winning Cruel Guards, and it was certainly a night to remember.

Soft-spoken and demure, Lisa Mitchell may be the absolute opposite of the openers. She opens with Stevie, combining delicate plucks of her Gibson with her soulful vocals, sounding like a countrified Martha Wainright. Her set is mostly soft numbers, and they work well – when she tries to rock out a little towards the end of the set, it feels forced. Oh Hark, a song about a raven, is a definite highlight, as is a special piano version of Incomplete Lullaby. The only downside is the sections of the young crowd who decide that quieter moments are the cue to scream to one another, and the acoustics in the theatre venue amplify their conversations over Mitchell’s songs. She ends with new single Neopolitan Dreams, and it’s been a great set from this sublime songstress.

The crowd is now tightly packed in to the Powerhouse theatre, eagerly anticipating the headline act. They come on stage to little fanfare, preferring to get straight into business with Creaks and My Best Mistake. The theatre setting is perfect for the Panics, and they make full use of the light show and great sound system available to them to lift their show to a new level. After Feeling Is Gone frontman Jae Laffer is haranged into wishing a crowd member a happy birthday, and he happily obliges. Tonight’s set focuses on their last two albums, with Twin Sisters, My Best Mistake and Ruins all making welcome appearances. As usual, all five members of the Panics put in perfect performances on their various instruments, none moreso than one of the unheralded great guitar players, Drew Wootton, who contributes his standard head nodding, toe tapping playing.

There’s a slightly demonic air to the doom-ridden The General Calling, which carries over to Cruel Guards. This is the Panics’ first ever all ages show (and it turns out, their first with a light show – what have they been doing all these years?), and the newer songs are getting a better reaction from the young crowd than older tracks like Cash and Crack In The Wall, which is a pity, because they’re classic tracks, but maybe some of these kids might go out and educate themselves with the Panics back catalogue. Of course, this young crowd has been hanging out for Don’t Fight It, and when it arrives, there’s scenes of joyous singing and dancing in the crowd. They wrap up their main set with the brilliant Get Us Home.

They come back out for Sundowner, and Laffer shows a little attitude to match the Cruel Guards closer. They finish the night with the awe-inspiring instrumental Fire On The Hill and the softer In Your Head, which feels slightly anticlimactic after what’s come before, but it’s nice to have a calm finish to a show. The Panics have one of the best live shows in Australian music, and tonight’s set has added to that reputation. Here’s hoping they return to touring as soon as possible.

Words by Liam McGinniss of Fasterlouder.com.au

Photos by Kylie Keene for Rave Magazine