Live Review: Birds Of Tokyo, Strangers, Pat Chow

Perth's Birds Of Tokyo kicked off their national tour at Metro City in support of their fifth studio album, Brace. Locals Pat Chow shredded up with stage presence as they warmed the crowd. The trio smashed out Don't Talk and Bad Thoughts to the eager punters.

Sydney rockers Strangers lifted the atmosphere of the theatre with a heavy, guitar-driven rock set. Frontman Ben Britton's strong, powerful vocals hit all the high notes and got the crowd dancing and bopping to new songs like Mirrorland. Jumping the barrier, Britton got among the crowd, singing and stealing drinks before he took over the back bar.

Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer got the crowd warmed up as they sang their lungs out to every word. As the electric keys rang out, Birds Of Tokyo launched straight into Harlequins with guitars blazing as Ian Kenny sang, "Let me dance for you," while dancing along to the beat with his hands in the air. Gods contained rapturous riffs while Kenny's majestic vocals hit all the right notes before Birds Of Tokyo took it back to 2008 throughout the set, with tracks including Broken Bones, An Ode To Death and Silhouettic from the Universes album, the keen crowd sang along with Kenny - who loved every minute of it.

Above/Below gave off massive Muse vibes with its electro-rock sound, while Kenny swayed away again with his hypnotic dance moves, like he was lost within the song and the crowd didn't exist. From their self-titled album, Plans was a crowd favourite before Birds Of Tokyo dominated their set with new songs such as Empire, Anchor, Brace and Catastrophe. Duet Discoloured featured local Louise Penman from electric trio Lilt as she covered The Jezabels' Hayley Mary's verses. Penman nailed her part, before nervously disappearing off stage. The theatre lit up with mobile phones as Birds Of Tokyo launched into Lanterns, bringing a grin of delight to each band members' face.

Mercy Arms finished the strong set. From the darkness, Birds Of Tokyo reemerged to screams of excitement, as the crowd was eager for an encore. The guys launched into Crown before finishing off with This Fire from their March Fires album, with the crowd singing along with Kenny. Even though the set drew heavily from the new album, Birds Of Tokyo produced an incredible, fast-paced set with a few favourites to keep fans satisfied.