One of the benefits of reviewing live music is discovering new acts. Another is opening your eyes to acts you’ve heard of but know little about. This sold out Hungry Kids of Hungary show at the Metro had a bit of both.

Entering The Metro Theatre early for the first of four artists on the bill, the Central Coast’s Daniel Lee Kendall was playing to a small but enthusiastic young crowd. Performing alone, Kendall was having fun on stage, at one point doing the robot while his keyboard played a charmingly tacky beat. He has an impressive voice too; his entertaining version of Passion Pit’s “The Reeling” sounding like it was sung by a young Van Morrison. Alternating between acoustic and electric guitar, keyboard and harmonica, Kendall’s folky set was fun not least because he didn’t seem to take himself too seriously.

Andy Bull, aided by a guitarist and a drummer, was up next. As an act I knew only a little about, I was impressed by the trio’s performance. The group was immaculately tight. Bull’s unique voice and upbeat keys gave them an almost a big band sound while little touches like the swirling slide guitar or drum solo provided variety. Their cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was original but wasn’t quite the party starter it could’ve been. However, “Dog”, featuring Tara Simmons, was fantastic and the crowd loved it.

Next was a band I’d never heard of. Informed by my rather musically knowledgeable mate that they were from Perth, The Chemist was something of a very nice surprise. The four young men sound a bit like Arctic Monkeys would if they ditched California and moved to Eastern European to discover gypsy music. While they started off lacking stage presence, once they warmed up they were commanding. By the second or third song the keyboardist whipped out an accordion and their songs gained the woozy sway of a steadily rocking boat and the leer of a smoky highway saloon.

Frontman Ben Witt is a real showman. Playing unaccompanied at one point, he whirls around, seemingly in a life and death struggle with his guitar, forcing it to squeal and yelp before launching the next song (or finishing the last one, it’s hard to tell). These guys are an exciting prospect. From playing with a looping pedal and four or five layers of vocals to finishing the set with one of those epic longer-than-the-actual-song endings it felt as though the headline act had just played.

But the headliners tonight were the increasingly popular Hungry Kids of Hungary and you certainly knew it as the curtains opened and the now packed Metro went just a little crazy. Owning the stage from the start, the five-piece kept up a high pace.

When the Andy Bull guys joined them on stage for “Last Waltz” the result was a wild and rollicking performance; the bands enjoying it just as much as the crowd. “Apparently the world is ending tonight. So, in case it ends in the next three-and-a-half minutes I hope this is worth your while” Bull quips, his guitarist Alex Bennison running around snapping photos of the crowd with their arms in the air.

Tracy Simmons came back out for mesmeric slow burner “Eat Your Heart Out”. “The Vacationer”, which I was completely nonplussed with after hearing on the radio, goes off live, the crowd singing along and bouncing, literally, en masse. “Coming Around” was amazing and I didn’t want it to end, while a cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ hit “1979” in the encore rounded out the set nicely. Even though the world didn’t end this was three hours definitely worth our while.