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Review Sat Oct 27 2012
Review: The Presets @ Metro, 10/25
I'm a compulsive wristwatch/clock glancer. I'm well aware it's a bad habit. But it's become a sort of gauge for entertainment. The less I look at the time, the better I consider the entertainment. Any time longer than 20 minutes not looking at my watch is a victory. So when I casually glanced at it on Thursday and noticed I hadn't peeked in nearly an hour, I was floored. And the credit goes to the Presets (because it certainly doesn't go to the crowd who surrounded me). But I shouldn't've been too surprised because the Sydney duo's stage show has always showcased them at their best and made time fly.
A non-stop flood of strobes, colorful lighting and abstract animated images accompanied the band through almost an hour and a half of their high energy electronic/club synth-heavy pop. Singer Julian Hamilton, decked out in the type of glittery grey jacket that only a musician could pull off, ran the crowd while drummer Kim Moyes spent much of the show behind the kit only to emerge to assist on keys and synths occasionally. Unlike many other duos, the Presets take care of everything without the aid of other musicians. It's a pleasant surprise in a time when bands whose gimmick is their size end up playing live with extras. With nearly half of the set consisting of songs from their new Pacifica album, the older tunes were a little too infrequent for some longtime fans, but the band still made the most of them. Singles like "The Girl & the Sea" and especially their monster "This Boy's In Love" got everyone cheering and dancing like maniacs. A brief encore of "Surrender" and "Talk Like That" closed out the night with a bang - hands in the air, yelling lyrics and dancing like lives depended on it.
