When Pnau released their self-titled album last year, it blasted them well and truly on their way to world domination – with the perfect formula of retro dance, ‘bip-bip’ electronica and touches of choir-based-sing-along. If you’ve only ever heard their record – or even their very high rotation on Triple J – then you’re missing out because it is well and truly the stage where Pnau come to life, and prove why “next big thing” would be an understatement as far as the dance scene is concerned.
It wasn’t just Pnau warming up for Splendour in the Grass though, with support from the super young rockers Operator Please who opted to hold their pre-Splendour party in Melbourne as well. There was clearly a strong fan base for the Gold Coasters as they worked through songs from Yes, Yes, Vindictive. Even for those who weren’t fans, it was difficult for anyone to deny their fun nature, especially when Amandah and Taylor doubled up to sing the classic Push It, channelling as best they could the Salt N Pepa performance. Whilst the well known singles were obviously well received as well, it was closer Zero Zero that solidified the high spirits of the crowd in anticipation for Pnau.
Sam La More provided a DJ set for the next 40 odd minutes, which had the crowd dancing about, but the real excitement came when the vortex-style Pnau graphic started warping over the stage backdrop – complete with near-deafening sirens. The opening beats to Come Together ensued and the crowd began jumping and dancing over the entire Palace Theatre, complete with shaking balconies throughout. Nick Littlemore appeared in a rather counterproductive outfit consisting of no shirt, scarf and furry hat and began delivering incoherently the lyrics to the opener. The backdrop then moved rapidly between the lyrics of the song and psychedelic patterns enough to excite the now packed floor of the venue.
In no time at all it was more than clear that Pnau’s show was not meant to be a primarily audio experience (considering you could just turn the record up so loud that your walls shake for the same experience). Instead, the show is all about visuals and atmosphere. The Palace Theatre was definitely the perfect choice for the show, with the venue’s lighting providing ample effects to suit each track. One of the best moments came when Ladyhawke appeared on stage alongside Littlemore for Baby, and along with the rampantly changing lights, heaps of giant balloons fell from the top level and sent the crowd crazy. As the dancing intensified, Pnau and Ladyhawke were joined on stage by several of the trademark characters – the bird, the skull, the sun, and of course the wild strawberry – all of whom strutted their stuff on and off for the remainder of the set.
From Baby onward the set moved away from being consistently dance heavy and opted to move between the slow retro tracks like Dancing on the Water and intense numbers like No More Violence, which provoked one massive call and response between Littlemore and the crowd and some unified jumping. Amusingly, many of the more intense numbers proved that Pnau’s most hard working member wasn’t even part of the core duo, with their drummer pelting away whilst Littlemore and Mayes stood front of stage doing little at all.
Returning again for the tour’s feature track, Ladyhawke’s delivery of Embrace alongside the dancing sun was arguably the climax to the show. Perhaps disputing that fact, the band’s breakthrough song Wild Strawberries appeared in the encore and seemed to get the biggest crowd reaction for the evening. Regardless of which track the crowd picked as their favourite, Pnau proved that they’re simply one amazing live act. For those unconvinced, where else would you see a giant skull jumping between the stage and barrier and well and truly squashing a security guard?
