Live Review: Luca Brasi, Pianos Become The Teeth, Maddy Jane, Speech Patterns

Being the first on the night's Tassie takeover tour, Apple Isle's Speech Patterns know exactly how to bring about the energy.

After a last-minute set time change, it's only the early arrivals that get the chance to see a cracking opening set, though it does nothing to dispel from the bursting, rapid fire, skate punk rhythms and anthemic vocals of Luke Thomas. Playing through tracks from their latest EP Crosswater, they perfectly merge fierce technicals at breakneck speed with infectious melodies, such as the rousing Frail Hands, that will undoubtedly be seeing them hitting the road hard for the rest of 2017 as word spreads.

In her second trip to Capitol in recent months, Maddy Jane firmly instilled the feeling of seeing a performer that is on the cusp of bursting into the national musical conscience in a very, very big way. Drenched in the heartbreak harmonies of her solo opening, her songwriting maturity reaches far beyond her years and is delivered with a witty home grown charisma that is an outstanding force live. After filling the stage with her band, she weaved a diverse course of alt-country foot-stomping through to Courtney Barnett-akin street poetry, yet nothing failed to do anything but pull the crowd closer to the stage.

Being the first band of the night to fill the floor with devoted fans and being the international drawcard for the bill, it was surprising to see Pianos Become The Teeth fall so short in their ability to continue the night's momentum. The band's restrained live performance allowed the intense dynamic inherent in tracks like Ripple Water Shine and Traces to beam under some glistening vocals, but it failed to capture attention and left their set feeling apathetic.

As though the home state pride wasn't clear enough for the night, the Tassie map glowed on all amps when Luca Brasi launched into Aeroplane. The four-piece tear the floor apart with their energetic dynamic while their sound remains as polished as ever, treating the room to Got To Give and Say It Back. While firmly planted in their punk roots, they still deliver raw emotion throughout that connect with the crowd in a major way. Packing their setlist with the likes of Theme Song From HQ and Borders And Statelines, it takes no time at all for the crowd to become a dancing frenzy with stage divers left and right. Even after forgoing the encore formalities in favour of just punching out extra tracks, the set whips by quickly, leaving the room buzzing and already itching for another visit.