Ending a three-year touring hiatus and touting a new album of songs, Cut Copy arrived back in Austin on March 30 to a rabid fan base that craved a liberating dance experience. Having been to Stubb’s BBQ for close to 100 different live music shows, I can confidently say that this past Friday was the most intense and invested I have ever seen a crowd. The Aussie electro-rock troop played new hits from their new album, Haiku From Zero, while keeping their older favorites in their back pocket, only to unleash them at near perfect moments.
Opening band Kauf brought some Los Angeles-inspired tracks to Austin while opening and set the stage for what was to come. However, the crowd couldn’t contain themselves when lead singer, Dan Whitford, and his three band mates assumed their domain. Opening their set with “Need You Now” from Zonoscope set the crowd into a frenzied panic of pleasure.
Cut Copy’s lead singer Dan Whitford has a golden voice but also possesses lanky white-guy dance moves that drive the crowd nuts. Guitarist Tim Hoey brings more of a punk rock presence to the stage, spitting beer on the drums, plucking strings behind his head, and thrashing violently like a metalhead. Without the music, the stage antics and light show are worth the price of admission alone, but mix in the iconic and euphoric dance music, and listeners have no chance.
New tracks like “Black Rainbows” and “Airborne” were received well by the audience, but it was tracks like “Hearts On Fire” and “Take Me Over” that sent the mood into overdrive. Not a soul was sedentary as most of the crowd let loose with full-bodied dancing and others absorbed the experience with their eyes closed.
The pinnacle of the show was as nostalgic as it was explosive; “Out There On The Ice” is over a decade old but it possesses a unique and emotional song structure that builds into a euphoric deluge at the chorus. An encore of “Meet Me In the House of Love” and “Lights and Music” capped the night perfectly and Cut Copy fans walked away from the venue, having had the band raise the bar once again as far as quality of a live show.
