Live Review: Our Golden Friend's Midwinter Moon Party

Jess Ribeiro apologises for bringing a completely different vibe than that of the 808s & Greatest Hits' opening set, but her vibe suits the tentative audience and the sexy hand-fondling-plants projection she squints in front of. Ribeiro's set is, as always, compelling. Her setlist comes from the "make it up club", so she says, and comprises a few newbies with meandering electric-guitar accompaniment. These songs sound like they're going to come up on record as good as some of the oldies; Ribeiro's final song starts with the melodic strength of her single Kill It Yourself, the title track from her acclaimed 2015 LP. In this final serenade, Ribeiro tells a backwards love story of sorts through proficient lyricism. Ribeiro's songs never fail to churn up an audience's emotions.

Poppongene (aka Sophie Treloar) follows. The opening song reminds this scribe of Poppongene's much-loved peers Totally Mild. Is saying that something is derivative ever a non-critical statement? Because Poppongene's second song is definitely a Best Coast-influenced track and the highlight of tonight's set. Treloar displays impressive vocal control, and the songs are catchy and contain a bit of funk. The connection with the audience is perhaps put on the back burner for the sake of nailing each clean song.

Moonlover close the night and open with lead singer and guitarist Quang Dinh on stage alone playing a song inspired by Deep South blues. It kicks off with a sample of a man talking about the Vietnam War and then folds into looped guitar with Dinh playing dark tropical blues over the top - a beautiful start. Their next song Mind Bender is introduced as a song about "aliens, mushrooms, theories and ghosts". Moonlover are all big guitar riffs and arena-ready bridges. Their hearty cover of Otis Redding's That's How Strong My Love Is impresses, Moonlover's solid guitar rendition the perfect antidote to this cold, rainy night.