Vanessa Lam
2 June 2017: Cheers erupted as electronic Canberra duo and worldwide chart toppers Peking Duk took to the stage for the final leg of their Clowntown Tour at the University of Canberra Refectory on 26 May.
The Refectory was buzzing in anticipation for the sold out show, with the band saving their biggest dance party for their hometown crowd. The night kicked off with Melbourne band Otious, who had the growing crowd dancing along to their electronic beats. They were then followed by the ‘Hannah Montana of the rap game’, Grace Shaw, also known as Mallrat, who dressed like she’d stepped straight out of the 90s, in head to toe denim with ripped jeans and an oversized coat and diamanté choker. She had the crowd jumping with her bubble-gum rap tunes from her EP Uninvited including songs about Westfield – ‘Inside Voices’, the dramas of young love ‘Tokyo Drift’ and the title track and antisocial party anthem ‘Uninvited’.
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Electronic duo Peking Duk saved the biggest dance party for their hometown crowd when they hit the stage at the UC Refectory. Photo: Mus Musgrave.
Next up was Melbourne rapper Ivan Ooze, who bounced around stage as the Refectory started to fill with music lovers. Leading the crowd in a sing-a-long remix of Edwin Starr’s ‘War’, Ooze’s energy was infectious as he rapped his tracks ‘Hooligans’ and ‘Fire’ at rapid speed. The air horn-heavy set was the perfect warm up for the chilly autumn night.
The dark room was soon filled with the Channel 9 cricket intro and an image of cricketer Shane Warne appearing on a large screen, asking the crowd to “Make some noise for Peking Duk!”. The crowd went wild and it was all systems go as duo Rueben Styles and Adam Hyde hit the decks. They greeted the audience with praises, declaring, “It was good to be home” and the crowd replied with shameless enthusiasm. The pair wasted no time, jumping into a mix of their hit singles ‘High’, ‘Take Me Over’, ‘Say My Name’ and ‘Stranger’.
With a framed photo of actor Keanu Reeves and a duck flag on their decks, the DJs had no intention of slowing down the night, with loud beats and playing remixes of beloved pops songs such as The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’ by and Flume’s ‘Say it Like That’. They also premiered their latest single ‘Fake Magic’ featuring English electronic duo AlunaGeorge.
The show was enhanced by its high level of production with five screens with stunning visuals featuring skeleton animated versions of the band, smoke, streamers and a confetti gun. While the audience danced in frenzy, never wavering their ever-increasing enthusiasm.
The band encouraged a sing-a-long to Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ and the crowd came together to sing every word at the top of their lungs. The sing-a-longs continued as they played the full version their triple platinum hit ‘Stranger’ featuring Swedish singer-songwriter Elliphant, which was the result of the twosome writing a song a day while recording in Europe last year. The audience embraced each other and sang along asking, “Stranger could you walk me home”. Just when the night seemed like it was set to end, they launched into their 2016 ARIA award winning track ‘Take Me Over’ featuring fellow Canberra band SAFIA.
The night closed with an encore of their ARIA platinum single ‘High’ featuring singer Nicole Millar, as confetti rained down. Peking Duk set out to give the Canberra crowd a party and they certainly delivered and had the crowd wanting more.
