Confidence Man are ridiculous. Brixton Academy is currently - literally - bouncing as 'Janet Planet' and 'Sugar Bones' perform the kind of endearingly awkward dance routines you'd usually see in the early stages of Britain's Got Talent, all while two walking lampshades named Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie hammer away on keys and drums behind them, encased in giant, spiky, inflatable rings. On a giant screen behind them flash images of flaming helicopters, badgers and, for some reason, pigeons. Lots and lots of pigeons.
It's a Eurovision fever dream come to life, something that really shouldn't work beyond the confines of a particularly ambitious drag brunch and yet is now surely on its way to arena status here in the UK. You'd shake your head in disbelief were it not for the fact that Confidence Man also dropped one of 2024's best albums just a few weeks back, the fabulous 3am (LA LA LA).
The vibes arrive long before they do. While a horrendously long queue to get in means we miss hotly tipped support ravers Fcukers, the Academy floor is already throwing shapes as we step inside, techno beats flowing out of the PA as a 'CONFIDENCE MAN LOADING' screen flashes images of Planet and Bones dancing away, two mannequin versions of the duo placed over a pair of decks at the front of the stage. When the real deal arrive, the cheers are deafening, the irrepressible 4/4 bounce of DJ Seinfeld collab Now U Do sending Brixton into immediate, giddy rapture.
The choreographed moves come thick and fast - only two songs in, Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie run out from behind their inflatable dens to spark a brief but voraciously received four-way routine - and there are at least two costume changes, flashing shoulder pads and cone bras serving high camp Mad Max. An appearance from Sweetie Irie for propulsive 90s house banger REAL MOVE TOUCH is a fun bonus.
Really, though, it's the tunes themselves that carry everything through; three albums in, Confidence Man have amassed an iron-clad setlist of rave-ready ragers that demand movement at all times, from the urgent I CAN'T LOSE YOU and euphoric disco of Feels Like A Different Thing to the glammy industrial stomp of SiCKO. Brixton duly obliges from the first song til the last.
By the time Janet Planet has the entire room kneeling down for a Slipknot-style 'jumpthefuckup' during Boyfriend (Repeat), it feels like Melbourne's finest are already on a victory lap. Confidence Man are ridiculous. They're also one of the best live acts on Planet Earth right now.
