Live Review: MS MR, The Kite String Tangle

Brisbane's solo producer Danny Harley, aka The Kite String Tangle, was the perfect warmup act for headliners Ms Mr and was welcomed with gusto by the packed crowd wrangling for front position from early on. His beautifully ethereal vocals, something of a cross between James Blake and a male version of Sade, soared above the bone-rattling bass and beats through tracks Commotion and Given The Chance. A remix of Flume's Sleepless went down a treat, as did his cover of City High's 2001 classic, What Would You Do?, which got the crowd singing along and cheering.

A huge roar erupted as New York darlings Ms Mr took to the stage, flanked by two large Australian flags bearing their name that a fan apparently crafted for them before the show. Bones opened the set as singer Lizzy Plapinger punched out powerful lyrics, looking uber cool and confident on stage in a short glittery dress and multi-coloured hair. Unfortunately the rest of the band's sound didn't quite match hers, with the drums and bass hard to hear in some parts throughout the set.

Tracks Salty Sweet and Think Of You and the epic love song, BTSK, followed, with the band growing visually more overwhelmed as they took in the maddening excitement of the crowd, which was impressive for just their second visit to Australia and with only one studio album under their belt.

Covers of Patrick Wolf's Time Of My Life, the first song the band ever played together, and LCD Soundsystem's Dance Yrself Clean were brilliantly done. Crowd pleasers Fantasy and Dark Doo Wop got everyone singing and dancing around even more, making Palpinger's Cheshire cat smile wider and more enigmatic after every track as she thanked the audience again for their fantastic support.

Hit, Hurricane, finished the set to rapturous applause, and the decision to play straight through without an encore was refreshing. That said, when you only have one album, extending the set further would have been a tricky task. A fantastic second Australian outing and one that's sure to be just one of many to come.