Gig Review: Art Vs Science @ The Prince Bandroom, 10th December

Last night Art Vs Science played a short, fast, and loud 1am set to a packed out Prince Bandroom that saw everyone partying well into the early hours of the morning.

The night was put on by MAG, a seven-year strong music magazine. Although doors were at 9pm, quite a few DJs as well as the band Infusion had sets before the headline act took to the stage, meaning that it would have been a very long gig indeed for anyone that went for the duration (especially considering DJ Sean Quinn took over after Art Vs Science and played until 4am).

However I was there mostly for the headliners themselves, and arrived at the venue just a bit before Art Vs Science were scheduled to take to the stage. And, right on time, the three guys from Sydney did just that. What followed was a predictably fun set that blew the roof off the Prince.

Unlike when I saw Art Vs Science live earlier this year, it was a set with its ups and downs in terms of energy. Whereas at the earlier gig the whole show was one constant crazy mosh, irregardless of the song being played, this time the mood of the crowd varied greatly depending on how well known the current song was, meaning that Art Vs Science’s bigger songs absolutely went off, whereas their lesser known material and new songs were met with much less enthusaism.

That was fine though, because constant explosive energy at a gig can get very tiring very quickly- this way at least their were moments to catch your breath after spending an entire song jumping up and down as high as you could, both arms waving in the air and singing at the top of your voice. Which is exactly what all of the crowd did for the first big hit that the band played, Flippers.

Art Vs Science were of course right on their game, revving up the crowd into a frenzy with supreme ease. “We played Falls Festival last year, and up until now that has been our favourite gig ever. But tell you what, I think this one might just be better,” they said, which is high praise indeed.

Friend In The Field provided another huge sing along and mosh, and Magic Fountain was greeted with perhaps the loudest applause of the whole night.

For me however, the highlight of the show was their closing song, none other than Parlez-Vous Francais?. The band turned it into a ten-minute epic, featuring extended jams and solos, band members hanging from the ceiling and jumping in the crowd, and a cacophony of voices screaming that opening line of ” The Champs-Élysées IS A BUSY STREET!” at a deafening volume.

By the time the track eventually came to a close every single person in the Prince was sweating profusely and very tired, and it was perhaps fitting that Art Vs Science didn’t return for an encore. This is a band that doesn’t believe in doing things halfheartedly, and there is no way anything else they did could have possible compared to the closing song of their main set. One hour is a decidedly short set for a headliner, but it actually suited Art Vs Science perfectly.

I was pretty much wiped by the end of the set, which was illustrated when a drumstick thrown from the band actually hit me in the head as I turned away from the stage, and I missed my chance to grab a nice keepsake.

There weren’t any surprises of this show: anyone who had seen Art Vs Science live before would have known exactly what to expect. And the fact that one of my mates who I went to the gig with really didn’t enjoy it demonstrates that Art Vs Science either are your thing, or they’re not. This being said, it was a whole lot of fun for me, and it is hard to complain about a band that brings this much energy and this much of a party atmosphere to every single show that they play.