S Poddar
Going to a Confidence Man show is like stepping into a time machine that whisks you back to the 1990s, watching your siblings and friends perform goofy, self-choreographed dance routines in your parents’ living room. Over the past few years, these Australian performers have built a reputation around their high-energy, ebullient live performances. On Friday, it was the first of two sold-out nights at London’s Brixton Academy—the largest venue they’ve played to date, apart from their Glastonbury appearance—and their gig wasn’t so much a concert but more of a spirited competition between band and audience to see who could have the most fun.
Despite a long, rainy queue winding around the block— a measure put in place after the fatal crowd crush in 2022— the atmosphere inside the venue was pure festival joy. Behind two towering, spiky inflatable risers that matched the band’s goth-camp aesthetic, a large screen flashed the words “Confidence Man loading…” in a retro video game style, with avatars of vocalist-dancer duo Janet Planet (Grace Stephenson) and Sugar Bones (Aidan Moore) stretching and preparing, sort of like Tekken characters getting ready to face each other in battle.
And don’t let the pseudonym usage by the band fool you; they’re definitely no confidence men. Their supporting musicians, Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie, had pilfered their names from gravestones and wore beekeeper-style veils all night. But Planet and Bones’s obvious miming is part of the playful act, which somehow feels deliberate in a way that matches up with their self-described genre: “bubblegum warehouse.” Their song titles alone are like *Does It Make You Feel Good? *, Breakbeat, Break It Down (On The Bassline), and Real Move Touch, leave little to the imagination about their intentions— these are tunes designed for unabashed fun and energy.
While their latest album, 3AM (La La La), veers slightly more into the territory of serious 90s club music, with its nods to London’s grimy east end and the trippy feel of late-night raves, they’re still too pop for the die-hard dance music purists. The focus of the show was clear from the very beginning: fun. The crowd was soon caught up in the elastic pulse of the opener, Now U Do— a 2023 hit they collaborated on with Swedish DJ Seinfeld— and the euphoric energy never let up, reaching a joyous peak with Holiday as the closer of the main set. Planet and Bones seemed to be on a mission to revive the unbridled optimism of the 1990s. Champagne was sprayed over the crowd. The duo leaped from the stage onto a carefully hidden mattress. They put on matching LED cone bras and shoulder pads.
Just when it seemed like the audience could not get more bizarre, British 1990s reggae singer Sweetie Irie joined the two on stage for Real Move Touch. Throughout the performance, the duo led the crowd in synchronised dance routines: from line dancing shuffles to YMCA-style moves, to windmills of the arms and hair, and even wobbly lifts and flips— a chaotic, offbeat display akin to an untamed version of Strictly Come Dancing. Though their moves were far from polished, they felt perfectly in tune with the band’s ethos. However, the slapdash choreography was at odds with the venue’s heightened safety protocols, with security staff visibly uneasy when Planet encouraged the audience to hoist each other onto their shoulders during the standout track So What.
But that’s the fun of Confidence Man: imperfection’s the point. They inject a sloppy, punk rock abandon into a pop music that’s about embracing freedom and fun. A live show that embodies an attitude of party-forwardness that bands like Charli XCX make with her “Brat” persona, Confidence Man might not generate the same chatter as Charli, but they’re definitely ones to watch in the battle for title of “party of the year.”
Their song C.O.O.L Party could be their theme anthem, with the lyrics declaring, “Everybody’s raving at the party of the year.” Bold statement, especially in 2024, but after seeing their wild, unrestrained performance, it’s easy to believe that Confidence Man could claim that crown. With their infectious energy, offbeat humor, and joy-filled chaos, they showed they are a band that does not just want to entertain but create a space where everybody is invited to be part of the celebration.
