Live Review: Peking Duk, Mallrat, Ivan Ooze

Peking Duk played host to the best dance party in Hobart this Friday as part of their Clowntown tour. Their biggest tour yet, Peking Duk will hit capital cities and regional centres in all five Australian states. While only four stops in, it's already proving a success.

Support acts Mallrat and Ivan Ooze led the night, both creating a crescendo of high energy dance party vibes for the main act.

Mallrat (aka Grace Shaw) kicked off the show with fat beats that moved into smooth synth melodies. Catchy tunes such as Sunglasses and Inside Voices proved a hit with the Hobart audience and earned Mallrat a decent crowd on the dancefloor. Shaw, who is just 18, led the performance confidently and engaged the crowd with banter throughout her set.

Following Mallrat, Melbourne indie/rap upstart Ivan Ooze turned it up a notch with heavy bass and his signature fast-flowing rhymes. Ooze cajoled the crowd into a frenzy with bangers such as PUITCAIBTA and Bills. Ooze owned the stage in a fashion similar to Kanye West, swaggering from side to side or leaning into the crowd atop stage speakers. His onstage persona had the appearance and movement of well-honed self-assurance and was the perfect fit for a rowdy Tasmanian audience.

After a brief intermission, a short video featuring Australian cricketing legend Shane Warne introduced the main attraction - Peking Duk. "Make some noise!" Warne shouted, and the crowd reciprocated.

Shuddering bass and a sample of Hoops by The Rubens boomed as the electronic duo came on stage. Peking Duk smashed through hits such as High and Say My Name to the accompaniment of an intense light and visual show. Flashing LEDs and skeletal animations in the likeness of Peking Duk were perfectly aligned to the drops and flows of each track. To say the audience responded in a dance frenzy would be putting it lightly.

Samples of Jay Z, Kanye West, The Prodigy and Oasis encouraged multiple crowd singalongs, and by the time Peking Duk unleashed their ever popular track Strangers, hugging felt necessary.

To witness Peking Duk live is not an experience for the musically faint-hearted - to remain still is out of the question. From start to finish the electronic duo pushed their audience with reverberating bass, reactive lighting, and on-point sampling combined with original tracks. Be prepared to dance, dance... and dance.