Live Review: Khruangbin, Harvey Sutherland

Harvey Sutherland damn near steals the show, opening with an absurdly tight, evolving set as he mixes sexy bass lines, which force the crowd to hit huge moves on the floor, and his permanent stank face from the groove. With his three-piece band, he spices up the psychedelic trance-like synth lines with sporadic vocoder, and pairs the set with a gorgeous light show.

Opening with the in-your-face drive of Bin Bin, we are immediately taken back to the '70s by the big-wigged Khruangbin, as crowd participation kicks in with each yell of “bin bin” getting louder and louder. When the iconic melody of Two Fish & An Elephant takes off, the crowd almost shut out the sound of guitarist Mark Speer. While he is the star of the show for most of the Khruangbin experience, bassist Laura Lee and drummer DJ Johnson Jr's insanely tight rhythm section cannot be praised high enough. One of the highlights of the set is a hip hop medley starting with Dr Dre's Next Episode and flowing though anthems such as Regulate by Warren G, all delivered with beautiful guitar melodies. 

Khruangbin are one of the heavy hitters bringing instrumental guitar music back into the zeitgeist. As the crowd scream and applaud for an encore, it’s definitely safe to say instrumental rock is in safe hands with Khruangbin. The show ends with their biggest funk jam, People Everywhere (Still Alive), accompanied by '70s-style swirling lights as if we are in Studio 54. The track evolves into a huge jam, which takes us through some uncharted psychedelic territory, leaving punters fully satiated to face the onslaught of rain awaiting them outside.