Last time The Presets were in town, I had to bail last minute because I was sikamikanico. Pissed me right off. Luckily they came back, and guess what? Sick again…but this time I powered through, cuz thatz how I roll.
Oh, Mezzanine, how I have missed you. Not. You now make me feel both old and ‘in the know’, which translates to elitist asshole, which I don’t like to be reminded of.
The Presets are yet another addition to the DJ duo Daft Punkian era that we now live in. But they mix it up by being from Australia, and doing things like really singing and stepping out from behind their gadgets. They’re actually pretty dynamic. The singing is good, though it sometimes borders on this cheesy ’50s crooner meets run-of-the-mill generic dance track, but this is all balanced out by some heavy darkbeats that are totally dance worthy. Several tracks could accompany a chase scene in an ’80s film. Just close your eyes while listening to ‘Kicking and Screaming’ and try to tell me you don’t picture yourself running away from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The lights were nice- rainbow hued light bars decorated the stage all in a row. There was an underutilized screen in the back that at one point shows a skull rainstorm and at another point some water. The water was nice but it made me sleepy.
They don’t alter their songs much, and with one album to work with, the set is pretty short. They tried to trick us and say “this is a new song” at one point, but that ended up being a joke. However, it’s so damn hot in Mezzanine that you kinda want it to be over fast.
I didn’t stay for cut/copy because I saw them already this year (and I’m an elitist asshole). I did pick up a poster on my way out, score!
OVERALL: 7.5/10
The Presets performance: 8/10
venue (Mezzanine): 7/10
crowd/scene: 5/10
value ($20/ticket): 6/10
memorable: 6/10
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I’m thinking that the Presets maybe drew a bigger crowd (or at least a more enthusiastic one) than Cut Copy. Of course I’m biased because I’m a super fan for many of the good reasons you mentioned: great singing, good energy on stage, dark heavy beats.
And because I like you, I’ll try to forgive you for this little quip: singing “borders on this cheesy ’50s crooner meets run-of-the-mill generic dance track”. ahem! ;0)