The Panics have come a long way since they first formed six years ago. It had been about three years since their last release; October last year saw them release their new album entitled Cruel Guards . This album saw them through to get a J Award, and much radio airplay across the country. Currently the boys are on their Don’t Fight It nationwide tour being supported by two of Melbourne’s hottest young talent, Oh Mercy and Little Red.

Oh Mercy took the stage sounding like a young version of Augie March crossed with The Shins. Frontman, Alexander Gow stood out from the band especially leading with his sweetly pitched vocals. He is no doubt talented, however between songs he seemed to struggle to keep his audiences attention. Musically though altogether the band work really well. As winners of Triple J’s Unearthed 2007 it showed through their performance why they hold this title.

Little Red are no strangers to the ANU Bar having only just recently played in April supporting Operator Please. The band was very familiar with the this ACT audience, getting them fired up instantly. Musically they fall somewhere within the genre of indie rock n’ roll. The alternating front man added a real emphasis on their sound and style. 60s-esque indie sounds plus dance motions are what they were doing. The boys were impressed with one of them saying to the crazed Canberrans, “I don’t know much about politics, but what I do know, is you guys fucking rock!” After Little Red had departed the stage, the crowd had gone from ‘rocking’ to restless. A bunch of drunken goons began singing in hope that the next performance would happen sooner.

After a drawn out wait The Panics came on stage quite casually. With a single “Good evening,” from the band’s leading man Jae Laffer the crowd’s energy had returned at full force. Something In The Garden was their opening number, followed by Creaks, Ruins Live Without, and Cruel Guards. The entire set list was beaming with passion. This shone through the band’s members Julian Douglas (keys/vocals/guitar), Paul Otway (bass), Myles Wooten (drums) and Drew Wooten (guitars). It is their talents which should be credited, as the keys, drums, bass and guitaring plus vocals are the glue to this fine craftwork of songs. The expression on Jae Laffer’s face whilst performing the band’s most renown song Don’t Fight It was unforgettable. It looked like he was in awe at the sight of each of the audience members singing along in such beautiful harmony.

As expected the boys put on a fantastic show. The band closed the night with Sundowner, a song which left the audience buzzing. It is nights like this that do not come around too often. As corny as this sounds but for those who were there, whether you were a fan or not to begin with each person left with something to remember forever.