Art vs. Science have certainly made their mark on Australian music over the last few years, with a whole array of quintessential party anthems. On the night of Art vs. Science’s Creature of the Night Tour, the tables of Transit Bar had been lined up in front of the stage, forming a barricade as if to contain an unruly crowd. This was obviously a silent sign to the audience that there was an expectation for rowdiness. No qualms with compliance there.

Castlecomer was the fixed support slot for the tour, and were evidently well practiced at preparing the dance floor for the night ahead. They were channelling a mix of Mumford and Sons and John Butler Trio, with ridiculously strong five part harmonies, and deliciously tight instrumentals. Their sound was folk-with-attitude and was awash with soaring guitar solos. When announcing that they were playing a new song, they instructed the audience: ‘don’t storm the barricade if you don’t like it’ – it was a nice touch.

Art vs. Science seemed to take forever to start. They sound checked, they fiddled, they tempted us with starting riffs of their popular songs, and then announced they were going to get changed and would be back in 10 minutes. This seemed likely to start a riot, but a timely return to the stage appeased the audience, and Dan McNamee played an excerpt from Saint-Saëns’Carnival of the Animals before launching into their own 80’s-like hit Create/Destroy.

Frontmen McNamee and Jim Finn were dressed in white shirts, buttoned up to the neck, and drummer Dan Williams was dressed almost like a tennis player, with a white sweatband holding back his long hair. They emanated nerdy-ness, but the versatility of their sound captivates such a wide range of people.

It’s only on special nights that Transit Bar comes as alive as it did for Art vs. Science, and Transit crowds certainly know how to behave at sold-out gigs. They showed their capabilities in this regard when the first notes of hit single A.I.M. Fire rung out and the energy from band and crowd alike were uncontrollable.

While it would have been nice to hear some of their less over-played songs, the crowd clearly enjoyed the favourites, and exploded for Magic Fountain and Parlez vous Francais.

The night ended with an encore. In an entirely primal act, McNamee ripped off his white shirt and bared his chest to the room while instructing the audience to use their ‘flippers to get down’. People used their flippers (hands) – and one audience-member used her panda-hat-mittens – to most definitely get down, and the gig certainly ended on a high.

Art vs. Science are damn quirky, and they just keep going from strength to strength with both their live and recorded music. By the end of the night, those in attendance had become a sweaty mess, but not one person left without a huge smile plastered on their face.

Photos by Brianna Williams