After losing a keyboard player, gaining a new one, travelling the world
and shuffling briefly into obscurity, Operator Please hit back with a
bang earlier in the year with their impressive studio follow-up to
2008's Yes Yes Vindictive. Entitled Gloves, the album kept up a similar
energy to that of Yes Yes, albeit more streamlined and focused in contrast to its predecessor. This direction was reflected in the band's
excellent performance tonight at a close-to-capacity Metro Theatre.
Though the youthful spasticity and freewheeling unpredictability that
defined performances circa YYV was not nearly as present, in its place
stood a band that - although both older and wiser - still knew how to
have fun.

Upon untimely entry, Chaingang were wrapping up what
appeared to be a successful opening slot for a still-growing crowd. As
their set at Come Together just a fortnight earlier proved, and as what
was seen of them tonight further establishes, these kids are playing
some of the most exciting, fun-loving rock music in any part of the
city right now. With the undeniable, sassy frontwoman Hayley Foster
prowling around the frontline, the band delivered an exhausting
performance; unfortunately with an energy completely unrequited by
stiff, too-cool kids that seemed to be taking the scene-and-not-heard
thing a little too far. Come on, boys and girls - even that chick in
the wheelchair is getting more into it than you! It's only rock &
roll, after all.

Their energy, it appears, seemed to be saved
for getting their fringe-flick on to W.A.'s new synthpop kids in town,
Tim and Jean. The band have been drumming up considerable attention
recently, with a slot at Future Music Festival behind them and the main
support slot of Art Vs. Science's national tour ahead. For what it's
worth, though, not much in their set helps them to differentiate
themselves from any other kind of drivetime Triple J fodder. Think
Miami Horror without any discernible hooks, or even Passion Pit without
any of the quirks and subtleties that made Manners such an interesting
record. In a set that felt at least fifteen minutes too long, Tim and
Jean went through the motions of bleeps-and-bloops electropop, vintage
synthesizer and thudding, processed beats. It was easy for one to nod
their head along, but it felt like a waste of time trying to invest
anything further into the music. Admittedly, the twosome (joined by a
third keyboardist and drummer onstage) are at a very young and
developmental stage of their careers. Having said that, it's not merely
a suggestion that they tighten up the screws and work on a set of
sharper tunes - it's a necessity, or else face permanent fixture in the
"Whatever Happened To" file of your little sister's tiny mind.

Balloons,
ribbons and fairy lights were strung across the delightfully decorated
stage, shortly before Operator Please brought themselves out to
complete the picture. The Gold Coast-based quintet spaced themselves
out and wasted little time in getting their now-fully-attentive
audience onside, blasting forth into the widescreen pop explosion that
is "Just Kiss". "Babes of Sydney!" squealed irrepressible lead singer
Amandah Wilkinson. "How ARE you?" Not too bad at all, dear - and you've
certainly done your fair share to assist this great mood of ours. The
band were in great form, cooly shifting between the more synth-oriented
highlights of Gloves and slick reworkings of tracks from Yes Yes
Vindictive. "Volcanic" and "Catapult" were standouts from the former's
pickings, establishing the strength found in the new material with
sharp hooks and a bigger, more prevalent keyboard sound (new guy Chris
Holland sure knows his stuff). The adorable "Back and Forth" was also a
treat, with back-up dancers recreating the colourful music video and
violinist Taylor Henderson joining in on the fun by attempting to mimic
the choreography for herself. As for the older stuff, it was great to
hear "Get What You Want" delivered with a tighter groove, and the
group's ubiquitous hit "Just a Song About Ping-Pong" switched up to a
roller-disco groove - more Red Bull than red cordial, if you will. With
only two albums to their name, it was quite easy for a balance to be
struck in regards to the setlist between their two studio releases,
pleasing fans with devotion or more exposure to either one.

It
was, interestingly enough, the unexpected inclusions in the set that
made for the real highlights. A tender, sweetly harmonious track
entitled "Back to You" ("Back and Forth"'s B-side) was given a surprise
run-through, displaying a great vocal interplay between Wilkinson and
Henderson and what can only be described as the softer side to the
normally bombastic and up-tempo group. The band's medley of covers was
also an absolute sugar-rush of adorable fun. Putting Destiny's Child's
"Lose My Breath" head to head with No Doubt's "Hella Good" ensured that
there was no pair of feet within a five hundred metre radius that
wasn't at least shuffling.

If that wasn't enough, the final number of
the night was an all-in party, as everyone from both Chaingang and Tim
& Jean got onstage, in addition to a couple of other friends of the
band. The result? Salt N Pepa's "Push It" head to head against Kelis'
"Milkshake". Impressively, Wilkinson rapped the Salt 'N Pepa verses
with Chaingang's Hayley like some kind of crazed teenage Singstar
slumber party, whilst the rest of the band found percussion to shake
(or their respective booties, depending on which was more readily
available to them). Yes, it was silly and incredibly cheesy. But anyone
who wasn't having fun with all this going on was either a security
guard or someone with no heart.

And so it was - the kids were
alright (Chaingang), average (Tim & Jean) and awesome (Operator
Please). It's good to have Operator back and doing what they do to the
best of their ability - for all the crap they've received in the past
and may well get into the future, they certainly don't do anything to
deserve it when it comes to the live front.