Darwin Deez

I was skeptical, surrounded by a crowd of fashionable moustaches and all the hype that New Yorkers Darwin Deez bring. Although the show was not sold out, the Hi-Fi was packed with trendy Melbournians and an energetic buzz.

Opening was Owl Eyes, an up-and-coming Australian chick and her support band. Although they may not have captured the whole audience (which is hard for any support act), they were quite sweet and agreeable. Brook Addamo, Owl Eyes's front woman, has a lovely, interesting voice which presents simple and relatable lyrics. The general vibe was upbeat, cruisey, and cool. I am sure we will be hearing more of her in the future.

Soon after an extremely lanky, skinny man with an amazing set of curls, neat mustache and a brown typical 'retro' jumper entered the stage to adjust guitars and sound pedals. It's him, the face of Darwin Deez, aka Darwin Smith. He fixed his instruments, looked around, then left the stage again.

About five or so minutes pass, and Deez returned with the band - guitarist, bassist, and drummer. They rocked on stage to a mash up of noise and voices before opening with "Up In The Clouds." Darwin's skinny legs wrapped in skinny jeans energetically bounced around the stage as he belted out the songs from their self-titled debut album. Lead singer Darwin clearly relishes in being on stage, so it's easy to get swept along and enjoy watching him enjoy himself.

The band was tight, the backing vocals were great, there were choreographed synchronized dance moves, and a pretty hilarious rap. The audience ate it all up, and it was clear Darwin and the band loved every second of the set too.

The only let down was Darwin telling everyone to "buy a t-shirt." Not necessary, just tacky. Stick to the music, Deez, leave marketing to someone else.

As expected, the poppy hit song "Radar Detector" was the last of the set. However, it was then followed by an encore which ended with another hit - the upbeat and fun "Constellations," in which both the band and the audience really let loose. It's poppy, but with a lot of quirkiness chucked in there for good measure.

There is a very talented - and fun - man behind that indie mo of his.

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