The traveling circus that is Pnau on their ‘We Are Back Tour’ rolled into Perth for a double date of midweek shows. Nick Littlemore and Pete Mayes have at last garnered the respect they have so long deserved with the release of their third, self-titled LP. With a shed load of radio play and mainstream recognition, the boys from Sydney had moved the initial show from Amplifier to the larger Capitol due to the high demand placed for tickets, with spots to the original show going quicker than party-boy Corey’s 5 minutes.

The change to Capitol was generally received as a good thing, with the stage being larger and providing more room for performance shenanigans. Arriving early to an impressively filled venue, it was clear this was going to be a show not to be missed. Breakbot was on the decks – or should I say laptop – pumping out some perfectly placed tunes to get the night rolling. Some Cut Copy here, some Calvin Harris there, mixed in with some Justice and a dash of Stardust for good measure. The ‘Bot was getting the crowd pumped for the ensuing sets.

Van She were always going to be an interesting opener for Pnau, and sporting a dirty-sanchez ‘tash and a peroxide bleached hair, the boys seemed fresh and new. It was a shame their set list wasn’t. Opening with the tried and tested Sex City, it is a shame that these guys don’t seem to have much confidence in the new tunes off their debut album (which is beginning to seem like *Guns n’ Roses*’ fabled Chinese Democracy, it’s been ages!) Their 2005 EP showed a lot of promise, but perhaps the boys have been too busy doing remixes under their Van She Tech moniker. It would have been nice to see them take a chance with something new. This fact did not perturb their multitude of fans who were singing along gleefully.

Following up with recent single The Cat and The Eye, the lads sounded tight and crisp even though the mix was a little bottom heavy, which detracted from vocalist Nick Routledge’s howling vocals. Letting rip with a few of their newer tracks, including single in-waiting Stranger, their new material seems to have a more rock orientated sound, with duel guitars even appearing on a few songs. Finishing with fan favourites Mission and Kelly, I’m sure it won’t be too long until Perth sees the Van She boys again, but hopefully it will be with an LP full of new tracks to present.

Breakbot then stepped in again to provide some transience between Van She and Pnau, and he started to up the tempo a little with some buzzing electro warming the crowd nicely. Some Alan Braxe and more Cut Copy in the form of a Lights and Music remix was rounded out with Breakbot’s own idyllic mix of the headliner’s most recent single Baby. There is still something a little soulless about DJing from a laptop, but that’s a discussion for another day.

To a grand entrance of flashing strobes and belching smoke (always a good combo), Littlemore and Mayes, with live drummer in tow, walked out to their adoring children. Littlemore, as always, pulled one out of the bag with his foot being wrapped in what looked like bubble wrap and gaffa tape, one can only imagine the result of some sort of on stage accident [Editor’s note; Nick broke his ankle in London recently!] This fortunately didn’t affect his performance as they roared in to the Triple J Hottest 100 anthem Wild Strawberries.

This reviewer considers that he has seen his share of shows at Capitol, but I don’t think I’d ever seen the dancefloor going so absolutely ballistic for an electronic act before. It was a proper moshpit, with a sea of fluoro coated youngsters bouncing around having the time of their lives, all presided over by a dancing and menacing strawberry. The bass was absolutely thundering and the balcony upstairs looked like it could have collapsed.

Lover was the next track to be belted out with the crowd only settling by a fraction. Littlemore is something of an enigma, and perhaps sees himself as some sort of messiah. With his grey-haired bouffant, cheese cloth shirt and 6-day stubble, he dropped to the floor of the stage in front of his loving disciples. It would have been a little more that self indulgent and corny had the atmosphere not been so electric. Girls were getting half naked upstairs when Mayes got on the axe and Littlemore grabbed one of his numerous horns and launched into the Daft Punk-esque house of Come Together.

After a couple more older and newer songs, Kiwiland’s hottest new talent Ladyhawke arrived on stage to the opening bars of Baby and the crowd once again went nuts. When the giant balloons start raining down it really did seem like you were at a circus, but with the best soundtrack ever. With Baby being 2008’s D.A.N.C.E, the crowd was loving the giant sing-along, and Ladyhawke sounded fantastic. Immediately followed the amazingly anthemic Embrace, and it was instantly clear that Pnau have cemented themselves in the top echelons of Aussie dance-pop, right up their with their Modular counterparts.

Finishing with a 5 way cowbell freak-out, the lads settle things with come-down delight Dancing on the Water and Freedom. Fans who had been hoping for a more balanced selection of old and new material would have been sadly disappointed, as the majority of the boys set was based around their most recent album. That being said it was a young crowd and I doubt if many had heard any of the gems found on Sambanova or Again. But maybe tonight will inspire them to check out the bands very worthwhile back catalogue.

With their encore consisting of the hands-in-the-air No More Violence and album opener With You Forever, sweat was well and truly drenching most punters in the building. Even though Luke Steele did not appear for With You Forever like he did at their Ministry Of Sound festival set (I suppose you can’t have everything), Pnau certainly entrenched their place in the hearts of all in attendance. And with a sell-out show the next night in Fremantle, there would be no doubting another satisfied crowd walking out the next night and perhaps even getting to see the fabled live remix of Baby.