Valentine’s Day? Schmalentine’s Day…the celebration of everything ‘love’ related was upstaged when San Franciscan fuzz creeps, Thee Oh Sees popped into Brisbane for a visit. Although, the door lady kindly handed each and every guest a heart shaped lollipop as they entered Brisbane’s famed venue ‘The Zoo’, most punters had relegated their thoughts of all things lovelorn to the deep dark abyss that is “I don’t give a crap” in favour of Thee Oh Sees personal brand of weirdo garage scuzz. And rightly so, with a career spanning 16 years and a reputation for chaotic live shows, they are no strangers to the art of audience seduction with electrifying guitar solos, maximum volume and the entrancing vocal sum that equals John Dwyer and Brigid Dawson (the two are a long running couple *AW* which is more than enough romance to cater to the V-Day suckers in the crowd).

Supports included Brisbane’s answer to the Shangri-Las, the Go Violets whose brand of jangly, all-girl guitar pop inserted itself perfectly into the night’s timetable as the calm before the storm. Lead vocalist Phoebe Imhoff is always a delight with her dizzying vocal gymnastics: whether live or recorded she sounds as though she’s been mastered to completion. Somewhat of a contrast, the next act is Brisbane’s favourite band of misfits, Per Purpose, who (since I saw them last #humblebrag) have seen the much welcomed addition of Mitch Perkins as a second guitarists add another dimension to their feverish, trebly, swampy (insert more dark adjectives here) punk. Their music is still met with an all-knowing snarl but their live performances see them fit and polished enough to play against some real heavyweights with leading man Glenn Schenau unleashing his angst but learning how to repress it for the benefit of onstage theatrics…and I’m not talking fireworks, fellas.

When Thee Oh Sees hit the stage they are welcomed back to Brisbane with Neanderthal-ic yelps that lead me to believe most of the crowd have witnessed the kind of chaos these San Fran natives are capable of creating…many times preceding tonight. Unfortunately, this gig was my first run in with Thee Oh Sees after years of unfortunate clashes in my timetables. Better late than never – according to Brisbane fans who’ve made an annual ritual out of seeing the band. Their hour and a bit set is tighter than ever before, the set list is finely manicured down to their greatest hits and despite an outstanding new album release in 2012 (that being the delightful, Putrifiers II) the band opted to only play the hypnotizing Lupine Dominus rather than a heavily new material oriented set.

Although there are clear changes in their live performance, the energy expelled by Thee Oh Sees is still overwhelmingly palpable, the songs remain loud and unapologetic and the crowds are ruthless, causing the on duty security guard to keep an unmoving eye on those brave enough to crowd surf (and get kicked out of the venue). If the high volume of sweat amassing the floor of The Zoo is anything to go by, Thee Oh Sees are capable of creating the kind of high adrenaline live experience only envied by a freefall itself. It’s confusing, your ears will be ringing, things are weird and somewhat terrifying at stages but man, does it feel good.