This mid-week gig sees Australian house music live act Pnau playing at Club 77 on William St supported by up and coming alternative rock band Teenagers as well as other guests. Pnau is a three man crew known for belting out innovative house music sets fully live. Their first release Sambanova had great success both here in Australia and internationally; the group picking up an ARIA for their efforts. This album featured a multitude of instruments and dance sounds oriented towards jazzy influences. This performance however is focussing on a lot of the new material which the group has been developing in the studio for over two years now.
After downing several beers at the Hotel William we strolled down a block or so to find the entrance of Club 77 which had some booming loud rock sounds coming from down below. As we descended the stairs we were surprised to find the club packed right from the stage area at the front to the pool table and couches near the entrance. The stage had been set up where the back of the dance floor is usually located, leaving plenty of room for people to stand around and creating a great small gig vibe throughout the whole club.
The first group we saw play were special guests Teenagers, who are an up and coming band in the Sydney scene and were rocking out a number of tracks to the diverse crowd. The sound was loud and crisp with the band belting out the tunes and the lead vocalist screaming out lyrics with vivacious energy. Much of the crowd was getting into it whilst those waiting for more ordered beats seemed to be chilling at the back of the room.
A number of cameras were traversing the room earlier in the night as Pnau were using this night as an opportunity to record footage for an upcoming film clip, possibly for the new single Una Noche (Get Up). After a long delay Pnau finally came out to start their set, with the time well past midnight this could be arguably too late for some for a Wednesday night but the venue was in good spirits and still packed with anxious punters. Many were already dancing and getting well into the spirit of the evening after a great warm-up set provided by on the special guest DJs.
Pnau’s sound was one consisting of progressive house tunes with nice groovy basslines and soft synth melodies. In their tracks they used a variety of sounds that deviate from the house music norm to give the set a very trippy eclectic feel that you could easily get absorbed in dancing near the front of the stage. The beats were consistantly funky, yet cruised along nicely with the bass, melodies and samples that were constantly being worked in and out of the set. Unfortunately they only played for about an hour before finishing up but I definitely liked what I saw during that time and it was great to see them playing so many of the sounds live.
Overall, this was a great Wednesday night out that showed the diversity of Club 77 which has been used heavily for a number of small nights in the last couple of months. Pnau played some great tunes and a majority of the sounds were played live by their three man crew much to the enjoyment of the friendly crowd. They were not overly energetic on stage but the quality of the tunes made up for this. The supporting DJ and band Teenagers were also very good and added a little musical diversity to the night all for a cover of $20 on the night.
