With only two songs released, Confidence Man have been absolutely kicking career goals with three sold out Melbourne shows, a spot on this year’s Splendour In The Grass line-up and signing to an international label, all in the space of six months.  The elusive four-piece are currently making their way around the country for their ‘Hard Candy’ Tour to prove why they’re the ones to watch in 2017.

Adelaide’s own Heaps Good Friends opened the evening, delivering their feel-good pop sensibilities to a less than empty room.  Despite the band’s latest single, Let’s Hug Longer, receiving high rotation on Triple J, the early crowd at Fat Controller on Friday night did not give the Adelaide duo the attention that they deserved.  It’s one of the many difficulties of Fat Controller’s multi-purpose venue, where some punters come for the bands and others come for the club.  Nonetheless, the band delivered a deliciously sweet set filled with bright soundscapes, cheeky lyrics and dreamy melodies.

Following Heaps Good Friends, the early crowd was treated to a DJ set from Melbourne trio, Broadway Sounds, who picked up the atmosphere in the room with some quality, party tunes.  Finally, it was time for Confidence Man to come on stage. If you’re yet to come across the four-piece, the band is an eclectic mix made up of members from multiple Brisbane groups, including The Jungle Giants, The Belligerents and Moses Gunn Collective, who deliver a sassy parody on bubblegum pop.

Their set kicked off with two masked figures, completely covered head-to-toe, jamming away on the drum kit and keyboard in front of a screen featuring bright, trippy visuals.  Then their two vocalists filed on stage and kicked it up to a whole new level.  The crowd were immediately taken aback by the eye-catching outfits of vocalists, Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, especially in comparison to the two other band members.  The vocalists sported revealing speedo shorts, fishnet stockings and a glamourous white blouse that took us back to the cosmopolitan style of the 1980s.

Confidence Man channelled the 80s in more than one way, as their live show reminded me of the weird and wonderful music videos that would be played on the wee hours on a Saturday morning.  The two vocalists kept a serious gaze as they parodied classic synchronised pop moves along to their bright synth-pop grooves.  At one point the vocalists popped open a bottle of champagne and after pouring each other a glass, they passed the remaining bottle along the front row of the crowd.

Confidence Man had the whole crowd eating out of their hands, even though the majority of their set consisted of unreleased material.  The group had a unique talent for getting everyone involved, especially when they played their two singles, Bubblegum and Boyfriend (Repeat), with the whole crowd copying the two lead vocalist’s synchronised dance moves.  The vocalists got everyone down on the ground before jumping up for the final breakdown in Boyfriend (Repeat).  Honestly, Confidence Man’s show was probably the most fun I have had at a gig in a long while and from what I heard from their unreleased material, I cannot wait to see what the supergroup do next!