A night prior to their Sugar Mountain performance Brooklyn's Aa (Big A Little a) graced the stage of The Workers Club for a warmup show of sorts. Along for the ride were Barrage, Bum Creek and The Parking Lot Experiments.

Due to being a little under the weather on the night I opted to arrive a little late in favour of sleep. When I did arrive at the venue, it was to a very strange sound. More of a mess of noise than any conventional song, the three members of Bum Creek each made a random assortment of noises with their respective instruments with no regards to whatever else was happening on stage at the time. An improvisation band when performing live can obviously lead to good or bad sets. Unfortunately, I caught them on what I feel was an off night.

With little to no communication between members Bum Creek played a set which became tiring as it dragged on much longer than it needed to. A feeling shared between many in attendance who opted to spend the set in the front bar socialising.

A highlight of the set came when drummer Tarquin Manek hit every object on stage, the stage itself, and even the walls of the venue with a cowbell. This burst of spontaneity bringing some excitement into an otherwise forgettable set.

The Parking Lot Experiments had the crowd interested from the get go. While exhibiting a unique sound, you can't help but feel the familiarity in the happy go lucky assortment of tunes they deliver. Playing side by side the four guys are a tight unit and it shows in the way they perform on stage.I'm not sure how or why I hadn't seen these guys before but seeing them perform is something else. There seems to be some sort of energy between them as they bounce around in unison like a ragtag team of puppets.

Main vocalist Dave Connor was humbled by the amount of people who made it out just for them, though from the way they played it was clear as to why.

The Parking Lot Experiments play a quick set of songs that at times could fall into the chiptune category, despite not actually using a device to create these sounds. Their songs are fast, catchy and most importantly, dance. A fantastic set from an up and coming band I urge you to check out.

With a capacity of 220 it was a little upsetting to see that less than half of that made it out on the night. Maybe they were all staying home watching The Royal Wedding, I'm not sure. Aa didn't let the lack of attendance bother them, but instead used it as a source of inspiration and put on a stellar show for those who did make it out to see them.

Starting their set with an assortment of bells, whistles and chimes it seemed only fitting that Aa play in front of a wall painted as a jungle. It was almost as if they'd built their show around various bits and pieces they found lying around. Switching between quiet and layered tracks to booming drum heavy numbers that reverberated the very foundations of The Workers Club. Or perhaps these vibrations were the result of the intense dancing many of the crowd took part in.

Not only do Aa have a lot going on in terms of musicianship while they perform, they also control their own light show with several strobes and floor spotlights flashing in synchronization as they play. It was impressive to watch and I sat there wondering how the three guys managed to get it all done.

Aa seemed not to miss a beat in their short 35 minute set, which is hard considering their style of music. When asked by a friend prior to the gig what they were like I could only muster post-punk/tribal/experimental, but there was much more to it than that and Aa proved it.

Be sure to check out one of their two remaining Melbourne shows before they head back home.