An opening band, in my experience, usually receives a tepid response from a crowd due to the fact that said crowd is normally unfamiliar with their music. This is especially true when the band is from another state entirely. Not so with Perth band Calerway. While only about five punters put their hands up when lead vocalist Jaun-Paul Rebola asked if anyone knew them, they quickly won over the rest of the crowd with their brand of electro-rock. With songs such as Blood Sweat Years and Northern Lights though, it was inevitable.

The Mission In Motion thundered out and were enthusiastically received. They threw themselves into The Window with a vengeance, and upped the ante for the night by playing an intense set of catchy melodic rock. Amusing onstage banter kept the masses entertained in between songs, and vocalist Brett Islaub played up to the crowd, his antics culminating when he jumped off the stage and into the throng during their last song We Take This To The Night.

Headliners The Matches bounded onto the stage with mischievous grins and brandishing a few plastic scabbards in, as vocalist Shawn Harris reveals, their own personal ode to Talk Like A Pirate Day. This playfulness, combined with an energy level akin to that of a six-year-old on a sugar high, set the tone for their entire set.

Harris repeatedly got up close and personal with the crowd. So close in fact that he was almost completely pulled in a few times by overexcited fans. Guitarist Jon Devoto, who had broken a finger on his left hand a month ago, was more than able to keep pace with his bandmates, reeling off guitar solos despite being able to play with only one finger. The entire band’s energy was so infectious that their guitar tech came out twice to join them onstage – first to take over guitar duties so that Harris was free to jump all over the stage, and second to play some hardcore triangle during Papercut Skin, the band’s last song of the night.

Playing a mixture of quirky and infectious songs from their last two albums, The Matches had the mob on the floor moving en masse every step of the way. This was the third time that they had visited Australia, and the second time that the band had toured around the country this year, but The Matches don’t look like they’ll be outstaying their welcome any time soon.