After spending a long time not witnessing the prowess of a Dappled Cities live show, I was finally given the opportunity to witness their fine selves at Falls, and a couple of other festivals since then. This very wet Friday night, however, allowed me to finally catch the Sydney boys in an intimate environment, displaying not only their gentle pop songs but also their penchant for a laser show.

As the quintet made their way on stage to the soundtrack of a dark, synth-y echo, one of the two front-men, Tim Derricourt, welcomed the Melbourne crowd to a night he promised to be a “magical experience”, before opening the night with a new song, written while on their USA adventure. 

Next up were ‘Answer is Zero’ and ‘The Night is Young at Heart’. The two Zounds numbers were immediately recognisable, with their live incarnations bringing them to life just that little bit more. The live renderings of Dappled Cities songs are performed flawlessly, their gentle indie guitar pop songs are tight, and not one fault can be picked as they fill the room. 

Derricourt and Dave Rennick are also engaging up front; Derricourt’s demeanour is theatrical, like a black and white film actor, while Rennick appears to be the agitated contemporary guitarist. From back when there was the ‘Fly’ attached, ‘Hold Chord’ was played, my particular favourite and a highlight for the set. Here, the multicoloured lights went crazy and the green lasers shot out across the crowed, highlighting the outlines of each member on the particularly tall stage. They finished the set with another new, nameless number, a little darker than the rest of their set with a heavy pulsing synthesizer line running through a cloud of distorted guitar. It left me excited for whatever they are armed with in the future.