As first support act, Sydney-based Talons showed why bands paid their dues in the old days. While solid performers, their music just seemed to veer from thrash to thrash randomly, making what should be exciting just boring and predictable. While it might sound ok for a band to cut loose in every song, it just ended up being an energetically banal opening to the night.

Dead Farmers lifted the bar incrementally, bringing their psych-blues to the fore and showing a little more restraint in their song writing. The songs followed their own paths, the musicians were obviously into what they were playing and the whole thing just worked. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good support set – impressive without being overwhelming, with just enough gusto to make you listen or let you ignore it depending on preference.

The musical cocktail made up of Mclusky's Andy Falkous and Jack Egglestone alongside Kelson Mathias from prog-rockers Jarcrew, Future of the Left refused to be ignored by anybody. The headliners took the stage to huge applause, and clicked the pace back to an atmospheric stomp. Between Falkous and Mathias' parallel vocals, the bass and drums were allowed to thrive.

Say what you will about the hard punk guitar sound that much of this band's material showcases, but the rhythm section's intuitive play is the rock everything else builds on. The band's ability to not only hold a riff perfectly but also follow it to a logical conclusion is the crux of many of their songs, proving Egglestone and Mathias as stellar technicians of their respective instruments.

The sheer class of his bandmates is what allows Falkous to roar over the top so effectively with either fiery Mclusky guitar riffs or Cramps-style keyboard weirdness. Switching back and forth between these two sounds, the band never seemed even remotely out of place.

Between the foreboding tunes they filled every silence with genuinely entertaining crowd banter on everything from Melbourne to Prince Harry, lending the show an intimacy few bands of this sound can create.

Among a consistent set, 'Small Bones Small Bodies' stood out as a highlight. But as the set closed with Falkous dismantling the drums even as Egglestone continued to pound, and all the while Kelson walked across the Annandale front bar, it became clear this was a band of not only impeccable skill as players, but also as performers. Well done.