Furnapalooza rolled into Melbourne on a freezing cold Saturday night to help warm the bodies and souls of those willing to risk it and leave the comforts of their central heating and electric blankets. It was well worth the trip, with the event proving to be one of the most unique and undeniably fun shows of 2017 so far.

It’s disappointing that there wasn’t a greater turnout for the early performers, as indie pop act Pluto Jonze, complete with theremin, and musical comedian Jude Perl were both endearing, light hearted fun to kick the night off.

Pluto Jonze | Sofie Marsden

The dancefloor filled up in time for Discovery, Australia’s Daft Punk Tribute, who as their name would suggest, spun a Daft Punk set with some of their own remixes thrown in. While sometimes having a wide variety of acts on a bill can be jarring and break the flow of proceedings, the three support acts were each equally fun and entertaining, offering something different for the early arrivals at Max Watts.

Discovery | Sofie Marsden

I must confess going into the show, not having any knowledge of any of the acts short of a very lazy Google search, my expectations were set at ‘cautiously optimistic’, anticipating a bit of a classic cover band affair. How wrong I was. Furnace and the Fundamentals are one of the most engaging and infectiously energetic acts in Australia. Their just shy of 2 hour set comprised of musical medleys containing the most popular and well known pop and rock songs of the past 40-odd years, with some Disney classics thrown in for good measure. You can’t go wrong with the likes of Beyoncé, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and Wheatus.

Furnace and the Fundamentals | Sofie Marsden

You would be hard pressed to find a more animated live band, with each member more than getting their 10,000 steps for the day as they ran around the stage and kept up choreography as funky as their music. 

It just wouldn’t be a true sing-a-long party without a triumphant rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody to finish, and, as much as the evening was a whole lot of fun, I was starting to feel worn out just watching Furnace and the Fundamentals tearing up the stage. Overall, despite attendance being not what it should have been at the start of the evening, the night was a whole lot of fun, and would be highly recommended to anybody who consideres themselves the kind of person who has any kind of desire for a good time.