Deerhunter – Sydney – 20 June 2009

Deerhunter
Annandale Hotel, Sydney
20th June 2009

Atlas Sound – Sydney – 19 June 2009
Deerhunter – Brisbane – 13 June 2009

The final show of the tour took place the next night at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney, a small pub type venue worthy of ‘intimate show’ sold-out status. Having caught them a few weeks earlier in London, it was like witnessing an entirely different band in the throes of conquering new territory and playing to new audiences. Regular show opener “Cryptograms” set the controls for the heart of the sun, its shifting kraut-drone soaring. For the faithful it was a dream setlist that covered all points on the Deerhunter compass, the band trying out rarely played songs like “Backspace Century” (“only the second time ever played”) for those who saw them last week. Only a pedant like yours truly would decry the absence of  “Octet” or “Fluorescent Grey”, but it was an otherwise flawless selection.

Introducing a rare outing of Turn It Up Faggot opening track “N. Animal”, Cox played the ringing opening chord, confessing that he lifted it from the Birthday Party’s “Nick The Stripper”, unnecessarily endearing himself to the already spellbound crowd. Aware of the fact they were flying back to Atlanta the next morning, they wound up their Australian tour with an intense version of “Microcastle” that segued into “Twilight at Carbon Lake”, Cox and Pundt playing out the lullaby-esque slow waltz melodies to match Cox’s own doo-wop harmonies. The smoke filled stage was encased in bright white light as the track wound up into a noisy, tumultuous climax that would end a phenomenal show and a phenomenal tour.