Hungry Kids of Hungary were back playing on home soil after winning the Queensland contingent of Triple J unearthed back in 2008, opening for OK Go at the Hi-Fi. While I’m not a religious follower of the movements of this indie-pop group, I recognised and to my surprise enjoyed listening to some of their hit songs, including “Scattered Diamonds”, which seemed to arouse the biggest response from their relatively intimate audience…

If the humorous nature of OK Go wasn’t already obvious by the absurdity of their film clips, NOTE: the infamous treadmill video for “Here It Goes Again”, then the rock band really proved themselves with their show at the Hi-Fi, Brisbane.  

From the start of their show the boys were out to amaze. They entered the stage clad in suits, with the exception of bassist Tim Nordwind who, while suited on top, chose shorts over pants (although his lack of movement on the stage failed to explain why). Their first song was characterised by an impressive guitar solo from keyboard/guitar/back-up vocal -ist Andy “Rusty” Ross and accompanying his brilliant display was a Muriel’s Wedding-esque shower of confetti which, while notably shot from a cannon, did little to add to the dexterity of the guitar riff, and thus the slight tackiness of it seemed irrelevant.

Lead vocalist/guitarist Damian Kurash kept the ever growing crowd entertained in between songs with his quick, mocking wit and it was clear his soothing voice is not restricted to his songs.

The group mostly played songs from their previous albums, however there were a few newbies from this year’s album “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky” including “This Too Shall Pass” during which Damian leapt into the chorusing crowd at the front of the stage which had been growing increasingly as the night progressed, and he proceeded to sing along amongst them.

By far the most unforgettable part of the performance was the group’s awe-inspiring rendition of “What to Do” using only melodious handbells for harmony, sounding not unlike a church choir. Despite the odd indecipherable shout, the crowd was left silent in amazement.

It’s never enjoyable when the vocals are too soft for the acoustics, and this was the case for a couple of their songs, however impressive the instruments sounded in unison. Despite this, it’s hard to fault this performance which was thought to have been ended by the group thanking their fans and exiting the stage. However, the chanting of “O-K-Go!” which erupted, and which no doubt could be heard in a 2km radius, brought the rockers back on stage, this time sporting flashing panels which emblazoned their backs with the lit up initials O, K, G and O respectively. The band rocked out the rest of their show with fluffy guitars which projected lasers from the end akin to strobe lights, an epic finale to an already blockbuster performance from the U.S rockers.