Rising out of the ashes of a declining live scene due to noise restrictions and venue closures, Sydney duo Arkadia attempt to draw the crowd in with their mish mash of acoustic niceties and vocal warblings that are perhaps meant for an audience who is familiar with their work. And since we don't know anything they play, it's hard to give them the reaction they are looking for. Surprise inclusion and definite mistake of the set was an acapella cover of Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" reminiscent of Melissa Etheridge or even the Baby Animals tearing a beautiful song to shreds. The end of their set comes not a second too soon.

After a rather long hiatus, the Superjesus return to Brisbane to play @ the Zoo and hopefully woo the punters with some new gear and a new guitarist. Sounding polished and pure, some of that raw edge that we saw a few years back has diminished and the Superjesus seem to be riding on the waves of past success. The decline in musical explosiveness could perhaps be attributed to the loss of guitarist, songwriter and founding member, Chris Tennant, or maybe growth in time as a band and a tight knit unit. The youthful exuberance they displayed when first starting out has passed as they slide into their roles and personalities as musicians.

New recruit, Tim Henwood, takes his place in the line-up with big shoes to fill after Tennant's departure and tackles his duties with a somewhat reserved manner. Less in-yer-face than Tennant, Henwood is more about musical co-operation and reciprocation rather than domination. His addition of some sweet as honey harmonies really fills out the Superjesus sound, providing a new, almost bubblegum pop sound to the new songs.

Sarah MacLeod is in fine form tonight, babbling constantly and incoherently at the crowd between songs, about nothing and everything, and she's not making any sense what so ever. It's only the fourth show on the tour after a few years in hibernation, so perhaps MacLeod is still settling back into the stage persona and performance aspect of being in a band. Sometimes you just wish she would shut up and play some music.

Vocally, MacLeod is spot on. With that husky and dry, yet somehow oh so smooth style, she belts out new songs with precision and familiarity ordinarily reserved for songs that are years old and have had time to grow into themselves. MacLeod's vocals are pretty much the only recognisable remnant of the addictive and hugely popular Superjesus sound, with new material taking on more of a pop slant.

The definite high point of the set was the final song of the encore. How often do you see a band do a Blondie cover? How often do you see a band do a Blondie cover and do it well? The answer to both is very rarely. Blondie is not a band that anyone should cover. It's just not done because you don't mess with perfection. Yet the Superjesus version of "Hanging on the Telephone" kicks ass over their entire set and just about any cover I've seen any band do, aside from Travis's homage to Brittney, "Hit Me Baby One More Time".