Live Review: Donny Benet, Neon Tetra

The beauty of a Donny Benet show is the weird third space between irony and legitimate party that is strangely irresistible. It's something that Client Liaison more than understand and the interesting aesthetic crossover between both acts is a mini-festival waiting to happen. Benet put on a highly entertaining show at Rocket Bar in Adelaide, perhaps the perfect setting for what he does with the dark moody lighting and the classic club aesthetics. With main support Neon Tetra and some fabulous disco DJing between acts, this is what Saturday nights are made of!

Neon Tetra are fast becoming one of the most respected and more importantly memorable live acts in Adelaide. With strong grooves, very smooth vocals, a tight rhythm section and thick syrupy sax they know how to fill a dancefloor and keep a crowd transfixed. A lot of local supports can be a bit hit or miss and Neon Tetra may not be the stereotypical triple j next big indie thing, but they are a killer live funk-soul act.

The first thing about Donny Benet’s show that is immediately disappointing is the use of pre-recorded bass, which in some ways defeats the appeal of a live Donny Benet experience, particularly given iconic images and footage of him playing bass. Nevertheless, Benet’s overall talents as a composer, arranger and producer were certainly undeniable and nothing really took away from the live experience. 

Right from the start and all the way through the last song, the audience at Rocket Bar was highly engaged with a lot of ironically nerdy dudes in Hawaiian shirts. This was part of what made the night so good, the combination of the highly danceable music with the mutually understood ironic nature of the entire artist-audience discourse. A small issue perhaps was the lower level of the vocals, but ultimately it didn’t really matter. Something about the great setting, the enthusiastic audience and the danceability of the music overcame everything to create a packed spectacle.

Although it would have been nicer to have live bass and maybe some sax it was good that he was doing a lot of live synth over his Ableton tracks. The pre-recorded bass still really drove the sound and carried the dancefloor. The vocals were a touch low but the communal delirium at the event swept everyone up, to the point where it mattered little. The picks of the night were possibly Reach The Top and Konichiwa, but the nature of the show is that really everything blended together into one big experience and a really fun one at that!