Having toured together for the annual Laneway Festival earlier this year and currently playing together again at Groovin' The Moo, Cut Copy and The Holidays team up for a national tour during their time away from the festival circuit.

No strangers to Melbourne stages, having been here several times supporting international bands as well as a few headlining shows of their own, The Holidays seemed overly comfortable on The Palace's big stage. Having only released their debut album Post Paradise late last year it was good to see a strong airing of the tracks from it.

Playing live with an additional percussionist, David Zucker, The Holidays sound fantastic. Singles "Moonlight Hours" and "Golden Sky" come across really well but it was other tracks that really shone. "6AM" for instance just screamed summer. It's infectious beat and dreamy hook backed with some subtle bongos went down a treat, while the synth heavy yet mellow "Broken Bones" had many in attendance swaying in unison.

While musically a fantastic set by The Holidays when it came down to it they did little to excite the Cut Copy hungry crowd. An upsetting fact as they really are one of the most underrated indie bands in Australia at present.

When it came time for Cut Copy to hit the stage the ever restless crowd were more than pleased to say the least. The cheer that erupted upon the first note of the cutters set was one of the loudest of the night as the crowd welcomed the guys back to play their first club show in Melbourne in three years.

Playing an even mix of songs from their last two albums, 2008's In Ghost Colours and this years Zonoscope, Cut Copy powered through their set. With Dan Whitford and Tim Hoey dancing furiously on stage it was left to the crowd to replicate this on the floor; a feat which everyone from the barrier up to the soundboard was more than happy to.

I can't help but mention in a bit detail the light show used during the performance. Introducing different elements every three or four songs it just got more and more intense. Starting off with just the regular stage lights I knew to expect at some point the strobes that I could see positioned onstage and behind the band. And sure enough, two songs in all 20 strobes on stage blinded me in seizure inducing flashes. Several songs later, the 'covers' of the front of the platforms either side of the stage were removed to reveal 11 panels of 5x5 lights which, at their brightest, illuminated every last corner of The Palace. The lights were so bright that when in use I could feel the heat from them despite being in the back half of the room; so bright in fact that I actually got a bit of a tan during the show. Towards the tail end of the set the big screen, which was placed dead centre on stage was turned on to show images of clouds and a series of doors opening into each other among other things. I counted over 600 lights on stage but in reality it could have been closer to 700.

Not neglecting their debut Bright Like Neon Love it was great to see "Saturdays" get an airing and for those who've been with the band from the beginning it was a nice nod back to their early days. However, it was tracks like "Sun God", "Hearts On Fire", and the penultimate song of the evening and last of the first encore "Out There On The Ice" which were best received.

In a bit of a surprise and as a little treat to those faithful enough to stay until the very end the guys from Cut Copy came out to play one last song to the hometown crowd. By the time they arrived back on stage the place was only 2/3 full which left plenty of room to dance. Playing "Feel The Love" from In Ghost Colours it seemed a little bit odd to finish the night on a more mellow track considering the quality of the previous encore. Still, those who stuck around were very appreciative and long after Cut Copy left the stage for the final time there was still chants for more.