Live Review: Tegan & Sara, Clubfeet

Opening band Clubfeet are having such a great old time shuffling and daggy dancing on stage that the half-empty theatre and lukewarm applause don't even matter. Their endearing synth-pop and lush harmonies fill the Palais, getting everyone suitably settled and ready for Tegan and Sara.

Much more bums fill the seats, and when the house lights dim and pink flashes across the dark stage, illuminating silhouettes, the crowd's roars are smothered by the epic intro of Drove Me Wild. There's a kaleidoscopic display of Heartthrob album art projected onto the stage wall, four band members at the back, and our favourite musical twins Tegan and Sara front and centre, swapping lead vocal and synth/guitar duties.

Live, Tegan and Sara's vocals aren't pitch perfect, their signature twinges and hard enunciation giving new songs a raw edge. However, they make up for the times they fall flat when they're warmed up later and hit those high notes together.

Switching between electro-leaning tracks off new album Heartthrob and older, indie pop guitar songs from their back catalogue, they prove there is not that great a divide, in essence, between their old and new material. With the stellar band behind them, the sound mix crisp and full, Tegan and Sara harmonise through the synth-heavy I'm Not Your Hero. They elicit a mighty cheer with the urgent opening chords of The Con, and get hearts and feet thumping along with the drums during its bridge. The theatre feels like a stadium for Shock To Your System, the live setting transforming the newer tracks into anthems. They nail the vocals on angry heartbreaker Now I'm All Messed Up, the impact even greater with both of them assuming power stances at their mics, lit by spotlights, hands clenched.

Throughout the set Tegan and Sara entertain with anecdotes, dorky jokes and sisterly teasing. While Tegan takes the lead with banter, Sara rambles hilariously about her “weak hips” and aversion to standing up. This effort to connect with their audience is what elevates the concert from good to excellent. The encore feels like a reward to those who “[stuck] it out with [them] through a lot of [their] hair cuts”, the two of them performing emotionally-charged renditions of fan favourites Call It Off and Nineteen acoustically, as well as a medley (!) of old songs, mostly from 2004's So Jealous.

With the delightful parting words of, “You are the opposite of a turd in a bath!” (a phrase they've picked up in Australia this time around), they close with Tiesto's Feel It In My Bones, on which they lent their vocals; it's an odd and disappointing choice, but ultimately it's a tiny blemish in the context of a blissful two hours.